Grant Shapps, who was Transport Secretary during the pandemic, has lost his seat in the General Election.
The former Defence Secretary was one of a record number of Cabinet Ministers to be ousted by the electorate, which returned a Labour Government.
Mr Shapps lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat after 19 years to Labour MP Andrew Lewin.
During his time as Transport Secretary, Mr Shapps was much-criticised by the travel industry for his Government’s decision to ban overseas holidays and, later, for the introduction of a complicated traffic light system for international travel. He was even tripped up himself by the complex rules, being forced to fly home from a family holiday just hours after landing in Spain when the Government suddenly announced it was moving the country from ‘green’ to ‘amber’, meaning he’d have to quarantine if he didn’t return immediately.
He also caused outrage when he implied travel agents were extinct.
In his concession speech last night, Mr Shapps said: “We’ve tried the patience of traditional Conservative voters with a propensity to create an endless political soap opera out of internal rivalries and divisions, which have become increasingly indulgent and entrenched.”
Mr Shapps added: “There is a danger that we now go off on some tangent condemning ourselves and the public to years of lacklustre opposition that fails to hold a government to account effectively,” he said. “We must not let this happen.”
He was replaced as Transport Secretary in 2022 by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, at which time his local travel agent Tricia Conroy-Smith, Director of Off Broadway Travel offered in a tweet to book him a holiday.
He certainly might need a seat somewhere now!
The post Who wants to book this chap a seat somewhere? appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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The former Defence Secretary was one of a record number of Cabinet Ministers to be ousted by the electorate, which returned a Labour Government.
Mr Shapps lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat after 19 years to Labour MP Andrew Lewin.
During his time as Transport Secretary, Mr Shapps was much-criticised by the travel industry for his Government’s decision to ban overseas holidays and, later, for the introduction of a complicated traffic light system for international travel. He was even tripped up himself by the complex rules, being forced to fly home from a family holiday just hours after landing in Spain when the Government suddenly announced it was moving the country from ‘green’ to ‘amber’, meaning he’d have to quarantine if he didn’t return immediately.
He also caused outrage when he implied travel agents were extinct.
In his concession speech last night, Mr Shapps said: “We’ve tried the patience of traditional Conservative voters with a propensity to create an endless political soap opera out of internal rivalries and divisions, which have become increasingly indulgent and entrenched.”
Mr Shapps added: “There is a danger that we now go off on some tangent condemning ourselves and the public to years of lacklustre opposition that fails to hold a government to account effectively,” he said. “We must not let this happen.”
He was replaced as Transport Secretary in 2022 by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, at which time his local travel agent Tricia Conroy-Smith, Director of Off Broadway Travel offered in a tweet to book him a holiday.
He certainly might need a seat somewhere now!
The post Who wants to book this chap a seat somewhere? appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
