The cost of commonsense in a dying government

Of all the riff raff and dross in the Gummint, there are - bear with me here - a couple who occasionally think and speak clearly:

John Hutton, at the recent Labour Conference: "Tories say no to new coal and have sent mixed messages on nuclear. The Liberal Democrats say no to new coal and new nuclear. But no coal plus no nuclear equals no lights. No power. No future."

Phil Woolas, Environment Minister, explaining why imposing a windfall tax on energy companies was a bad idea: "[There is] no guarantee that a windfall tax would not be passed on to the customer. We can only regulate in the UK; we can’t regulate Saudi Arabia.”

Guess what. Hutton and Woolas have been reshuffled out of their posts.

Hutton has ended up as Secretary of State for Defence. Possibly a huge mistake, as there is more than a slim chance he actually knows what he is talking about: His hobbies include military history and he recently published a book on the experiences of King's Own Royal Lancasters during the First World War.

Woolas is now Immigration Minister. Oops! He actually knows a thing or two about this and is one of the few MPs* who have had the nerve, gall and temerity to point out:

... that marriages between first cousins are a factor in birth defects and inherited conditions. "Part of the risk, I am told by the health service, is first-cousin marriages. If you are supportive of the Asian community then you have a duty to raise this issue." It is estimated that 55 per cent of British Pakistanis are married to first cousins. The likelihood of unrelated couples having children with genetic disorders is about 100-1, but it rises to one in eight for first cousins. British Pakistani children account for as many as one-third of birth defects, despite making up only three per cent of all UK births.

... so I doubt whether either of them will last very long in their new posts.

* It's just him and Ann Cryer (Lab, Keighley), actually, AFAIAA.