back to article Dowden out, Dorries in: Is UK data protection in safe hands?

Nadine Dorries is the latest government minister charged with steering the data protection law through the choppy straits between the UK's desire to unleash "data's power across the economy and society for the benefit of British citizens and British businesses", and the boring need to comply with EU data protection law. A …

  1. MJI Silver badge

    What talent?

    Not sure who Dowden was.

    I suppose not quite as bad as spider man, I think Mr Yougov has that job now.

    Raaaab moved somewhere as well.

    To be honest the current lot are a complete shower. From Liar from the bus down.

    Not many decent ones left and a lot of those are ex military.

    Our previous PM also shows them up.

    1. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

      Re: What talent?

      "Not sure who Dowden was". Me too. But I know who Dorries is, and I don't find the change reassuring.

      Politicians are like romantic partners. Flighty and exciting gets them noticed, but the novelty wear off pretty rapidly when you have to live with them.

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

        "Good women are beautiful. Bad women aren’t. And men will do anything for a Guinness and a potato. Our writer loses herself in the blarney-filled world of the new culture secretary’s oeuvre"...

        https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/17/jesus-mary-joseph-nadine-dorries-novels-irish-cliches-guinness-blarney

  2. DJV Silver badge

    Current shower

    Apparenty, if the history book that fell through time from the future to land at my feet speaks the truth, then the "current shower" were the first against the wall when the revolution came. I can't wait!

    (Apologies to a certain Mr Adams.)

    1. SundogUK Silver badge

      Re: Current shower

      I find it disturbing how quickly the 'tolerant' left are to deciding their political opponents need murdering.

      1. Citizen of Nowhere

        Re: Current shower

        Indeed. So stop trying to bore us to death with your humourless, trite trolling :-)

  3. Samsara

    In defence of Nadine Dorries from a tech-competence level, she was the only person that could bully Openreach into providing broadband to my recording studio in rural Bedfordshire.

    I'd exhausted all other routes (& alternatives...satellite broadband etc), so in desperation 'wrote to my M.P'.

    To my astonishment (after years of trying myself with no success), Openreach duly dug-up the road & seemed genuinely in fear of Ms Dorries.

    Nice work.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Well she is a bit scary.

      Probably invited them to a meal of something disgusting.

  4. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    Is UK data protection in safe hands?

    No, irrespective of whoever's in charge of the department of culture media. When a government's entire raison d''etre is getting out from under a regulatory regime which seeks to protect citizens' rights none of its party can be trusted with data protection.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Is UK data protection in safe hands?

      "getting out from under a regulatory regime which seeks to protect citizens' rights"

      Years ago, the EEC promised faithfully it had no intention of trying to supersede any member state's own national government. You could argue that the EU, which evolved from the EEC without all that tedious having to ask the various nations if they really wanted the change, is entirely different and so not bound by previous promises, but you should also remember that the EEC *and* the EU both faithfully promised they had no interest in forming a central European Army.

      Then, a few years after Maastricht, the French President had a really great idea - wouldn't it be wonderful if there was some central High Command that had effective control over the armed forces of all the EU's member states? This was such a good idea that the German Chancellor endorsed it. Other people were not impressed and the idea was forgotten.

      Then, a couple of years ago, Angela Merkel had this really great idea - wouldn't it be wonderful if there was some central High Command that had effective control over the armed forces of all the EU's member states? Leaders of other states, perhaps remembering times when Germany has had similar thoughts in the past, were not impressed (except the French president who thought it was a great idea) and the idea was soon forgotten.

      Was it last week or the week before that Macron had this really cool idea in the wake of the American debacle in Afghanistan, wouldn't it be good if the EU had a centralized command structure so all the EU's member states could coordinate their activites...

      EU Flag, EU Prime Minister, EU "National" Anthem. Fair enough.

      Central European Army, run by Brussels? EU, EU uber alles? Maybe not.

      1. LionelB Silver badge

        Re: Is UK data protection in safe hands?

        Ho hum. For the last four decades we've been hearing about (a) the imminent demise of the EU, and (b) the imminent EU army. Often by the same people. At the same time.

        Go figure.

      2. teebie

        Re: Is UK data protection in safe hands?

        I'm not sure your list of examples of when the EU quickly rejected the suggestion that there should be an European army supports the narrative that the EU wants to create a European army.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I was surprised when they announced she was to be the new Culture Secretary

    "The words are 'Dorres' and 'Culture'. Can anyone form a sentence using these two words?"

    This lot's comedy gold... can't wait for HIGNFY and the new Trade Secretary... or Dead Ringers and the new Trade Secretary

    1. BebopWeBop

      It reminds me of Alice... Dorries and Culchur

      "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less."

      "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

      "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-that's all."

  6. Flywheel
    Facepalm

    Just *stop it* Boris

    He's just scraping the bottom of the barrel again, and rearranging the dross that he scoops up in a different order. Gods forbid that he should ever hire anyone with talent!

    1. DJV Silver badge

      Re: Just *stop it* Boris

      Talent? Many of the Tory party exhibit great talent in transferring OUR money into the back pockets of their mates.

    2. Steve McIntyre

      Re: Just *stop it* Boris

      It's not possible at this point - in the rush to force Brex*hit to happen, all of the Tories with any actual talent or skills were purged.

    3. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Alert

      The Great British Cabinet

      Ended with Chippendale

      - he of the eponymous wooden furniture

      and of course the male dance troupe - they obviously had talent or something to make women of a certain age go crazy.

      As for Boris' Cabinet of the talented crème de la crème of the Tory party - they are as wooden as one of Mr Chippendale's pieces of furniture

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You can't spell clusterfuck without Dorries.

    Isn't Dorries the woman who, when Damien Green was caught with pr0n on his ministerial computer said:

    'My staff log onto my computer with my login everyday, including interns on exchange programmes'?

    She sounds the perfect candidate.

    1. Robert Carnegie Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: You can't spell clusterfuck without Dorries.

      Her current password is "red dorries yellow dorries". :-)

  8. Stuart Castle Silver badge

    So, in all the potential candidates for the DCMS job, Boris couldn’t find someone that could a) use a computer and b) has shown they have some clue about Culture or the Media?

    Still, I do think the only member of the government who has shown he is competent is Rishi Sunak , and even he isn’t really suitable, imo.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      One of Boris's toadies said today Dorries got the job because she'd written a book (allegedly) and therefore knew about culture. By that reckoning, Boris wiill one day make someone Minister of Defence because they got an Action Man when they were a kid.

      1. BebopWeBop

        From a review of said tome

        “It had the refinement of a cabbage, and the pace of a car chase in Heartbeat. Prose wise, it reminded me of the works of novelist Frank Lampard.”

  9. Tron Silver badge

    Ahem.

    'puddle of talent'.

    FTFY.

    Boris makes all the decisions. If something goes well, he takes the credit. If it goes badly, he sacks the minister responsible.

    This is how you stay popular. Enough. Just. Ish.

    1. staringatclouds

      Re: Ahem.

      Boris's handler makes all the decisions...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    meet the new boss - same as the old boss

    What's actually changed? Nothing. One clueless and useless nonentity has been swapped for another to spout the same shit. Both of them couldn't even win a fireplace salesperson of the month award.

    1. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

      Re: meet the new boss - same as the old boss

      Doesn't matter who is the minister. Its the Whitehall department that makes the policy.

  11. SundogUK Silver badge

    "Whether a talent for fiction is a prerequisite for any ambitious politician remains an open question"

    Tell that to Benjamin Disraeli.

  12. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    I see one of her first acts has been to overturn a listed building status to allow demolition. It was an emergency listing put in place just after demolition was announced. How good of her to give a few seconds grace to allow for a full debate on the status.

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