Candid self-analysis of minister's parting words sets a new standard in Westminster
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Not since Tony Blair took office has a cabinet minister made such a frank and personal admission of their failings.
Estelle Morris's parting words to the Prime Minister, in which she admitted she had not been as effective as she wished, were marked by self-deprecation and candour.
"In many ways, I feel I achieved more in the first job than I have in the second," Ms Morris said in her resignation letter. "I've learned what I'm good at and also what I'm less good at. I am less good at strategic management of a huge department and I am not good at dealing with the modern media."
In a BBC interview she again admitted her failings, her eyes briefly welling with tears as she explained her inability to cope with media intrusion. She insisted she had not performed as well as the Prime Minister deserved, prompting contrite Tories and union leaders to protest she was being too hard on herself.
Such self-analysis broke all the rules of a classic resignation where the fallen are not expected to admit their failings – Ms Morris made a brutal assessment of her performance and acted on it swiftly.
Previous ministers who have fallen from grace were dragged protesting from office after months of vilification and questions about their performance.
Stephen Byers, who had presided over the near immolation of his transport department, claimed that although "the political obituaries will be full of talk of spin doctors, e-mails and who said what to whom" he hoped people would remember him for his ministerial achievements, which he then went on to list.
Seldom does a minister leave of their own volition. Ron Davies was offered the opportunity to resign as Welsh Secretary after "a moment of madness" on Clapham Common. Peter Mandelson was driven to resign twice from the Cabinet after serious questions arose about his personal judgement. As the headlines screamed for his resignation, he fiercely defended his innocence, even after he was forced to step down.
Ms Morris's motivation for leaving was simple and dignified and set a new standard at Westminster: she was leaving because she believed she was not good enough.
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