TAR special: Douglas Alexander - A transport secretary's rise to power

Our new transport secretary

Sometimes you feel you're the only person shouting about something important, while everyone else ignores you. After a while you begin to think that you're completely wrong, and what you're saying really isn't important. And then, years later, you realise that your warnings were precisely on track, but it's all just too late …

The new minister for transport in the UK is a man called Douglas Alexander. Mr Alexander has had a nice, steady rise to his position. But is he any good? I don't honestly know if he's substantively *worse* than other ministers or even politicians in general, but I do know this: a couple of years back, Douglas was at the DTI as 'e-minister', and his tenure there was marked by a level of inaction, misdirection and downright light-fingeredness with the truth about how Britain was getting broadband, that I took it upon myself to become completely obsessed with a vendetta against a man I perceived to be a rampant and shameless bulshitter.

Some people may remember this obsession of mine (a few of you may wish you could forget it). When I first heard on the Today programme that he'd been appointed to this latest post, I damn near spat my tea over my bed. I knew there was only one thing I could do about it – tell TAR readers, who stayed away in their droves from PC Advisor's news coverage of his earlier 'career', something of what he's really like.

I shan't say much more, because I want you to read what I recall was the last story I wrote/presided over as news editor at PC Advisor about his promotion; a promotion that occurred in spite of the total lack of success and proper funds disbursement he was 'responsible' for. After that, I've listed the stories we did on him from his induction to the DTI.

Though most of the stories were reported by staffers on PC Advisor rather than myself, I was their news ed. and I take responsibility for the stories ... mainly because I sicced them on him and I wrote the heads and sells, and I jazzed up copy to be nastier than they probably wanted it to be. This last story took months to research to the point that it reached, and was constantly stymied by the DTI press office. Journalist readers of TAR will know precisely what this is like.

At the end of the day, however, it's up to you to decide. But if a man can do stuff like this, god *knows* what he'll be like in charge of our transport 'infrastructure'. However, if recent announcements/interviews are to be taken as a dipstick (unlike our dear chap, of course), nothing much has changed...

Say hello to the new 'e-minister'
Alexander promoted, Timms takes over as e-overlord
30 May 2002
Rupert Collins-White

In standard government fashion Douglas Alexander, erstwhile e-commerce and competition minister, has been promoted to the Cabinet Office under Lord McDonald. His promotion comes in spite of having failed to realise the 'broadband Britain' he was tasked with achieving.

Alexander's successor is Stephen Timms, who at least has experience in working in the telecommunications and IT industry. Timms studied mathematics and went on to work for IT group Logica and then research IT analysts Ovum for a total of 15 years.

Alexander, a Brownite ex-lawyer, took over as e-minister from Patricia Hewitt on the stepladder to proper political jobs. In his time as e-commerce minister Alexander managed to preside over the constant trumpeting of a single disbursement of £30m for 'broadband Britain'. This sat in Treasury coffers for more than a year after first being announced by Hewitt. It's only just been handed out.

He also chaired a study group, the BSG (Broadband Stakeholders Group). Alexander had to step down from the BSG after it became clear that it didn't live up to its promise of independence and it made suggestions to the government (namely Alexander) that couldn't be carried out because Alexander couldn't get funding or backing for them.

One key player in the BSG, Tom Wills-Sandford, who also put forward the current chairman, Keith Todd, admitted "it was a very peculiar situation we found ourselves in", having Alexander chairing a group that was making recommendations to himself.

When Alexander eventually stepped aside for Todd, the DTI press office tried to make us believe that Alexander 'had always been only the acting chairman' and that the group was 'always looking for someone else', which was nonsense. Wills-Sandford confirmed that, to his knowledge, Alexander "wasn't the acting chairman".

Ian Taylor MP, one-time Tory junior minister for the DTI and serving member of the science and technology select committee, said Alexander had let the body he had set up to advise him get too close.

A ex-professional lobbyist for the mobile telecomms industry said there was a very good reason why the BSG answered to and was governed by Alexander — it meant he should have only been able to make recommendations he could achieve, making him look like an effective minister.

In fact, the BSG ended up making some recommendations that Alexander could never have pushed through because they ran contrary to government policy. It also, stunningly, made recommendations to Alexander's office that, if implemented, would have constituted illegal state aid (i.e. UK-only industry-specific tax breaks).

That Alexander chaired a group that made recommendations that he as a minister and a lawyer should have pointed would have been impossible to implement epitomises his tenure — Britain lags behind almost every country in the EU as well as the US in terms of broadband adoption, pricing and government policy, according to multiple sources.

The DTI has already attempted to stitch up the numbers of businesses taking up broadband. With luck and some application of his experience, Timms will change a sub-department that has stultified and failed to deliver broadband Britain. (:/)

So what happened before? These stories are in reverse chronological order (most recent first, in other words…)

>> Wills-Sandford of the Broadband Stakeholders Group admitting that with Alexander gone the BBSG might actually be able to achieve something (it did)

>> Ben Camm-Jones writes on Alexander's strange misreporting of small firms on broadband

>>Wendy Brewer writes on Alexander stepping down from the BSG, and announcing more rubbish money

>>Wendy writes on lack of broadband take-up, pointing finger at Alexander's tenure

>>Wendy writes on yet another 'new money' announcement by Alexander

Laura marks his promotion to the DTI