webofevil | Charles Clarke axed from Cabinet

I know it doesn’t do to speak ill of the recently departed, so here’s the nicest thing I could find that I’ve said about him:

“... for Clarke to accuse anyone else of being patronising is startling. He shares with Blair, and, to a degree, Kilroy, the firm conviction that the best way to be seen as an honest politician and a man of the people is to respond to any criticism—indeed, almost any question—with a sigh, a shake of the head, perhaps a smile, and the carefully studied impression that no-one else could conceivably understand the intricate complexities of what the stripling before them is begging them to expound on. It’s an unattractive trait in anyone, but Clarke carries it off least well, coming across like a shifty plumber about to charge you fifty times what the job is worth.” (from this post)