One-time student radical Jack Straw has managed to remain at the heart of the New Labour government since it took power in 1997, holding a variety of jobs and positions and always managing to stay on the right side of the leadership.
He appears to have put political ambition before his concerns about the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 (evident in various Labour memoirs) and as Foreign Secretary he brazenly toured around parts of Britain with Condoleezza Rice during the height of anti-war protests.
He has recently been in the news for his 'tough' posturing as Justice Secretary, refusing leniency in the cases of train-robber Ronnie Biggs and Liverpool teenager Michael Shields, the latter case causing great anger on Merseyside where many people believe Shields is totally innocent.
I think Straw's increasing reputation as a political chameleon is admirably summed up by Peter Oborne's article in the following link- Flip-flop Jack is now a figure of ridicule:
I don't agree with everything Oborne writes (nor the Daily Mail for that matter!) but I feel he is an effective commentator and has hit the nail on the head here. Mr Straw on the one hand poses as the tough, unforgiving and illiberal law-enforcer for Middle England, yet at the same time salutes his own role in the passage of the 'liberal' Human Rights Act!
Such Orwellian double-speak and ambiguity says a lot about the fundamental plight of the current government (and it saddens me to say it!)- all things to all people and with no direction or identity as a result. Straw, although undoubtedly a skilful politician, is the embodiment of this depressing reflection of modern politics.
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