Sir Howard Bernstein tipped for Tory cabinet.....eh?

Sir Howard ‘Lord of the Manor’ Bernstein must have impressed young, pouting David Cameron last week. Manchester City Council’s Chief Executive and huge Manchester City Football Club fan might be ascending into ermine.

“It’s causing a right laugh around the Town Hall. Although we reckon he’s prouder of being the Honorary President of Manchester City Football Club than being, apparently, on a list of prospective Conservative peers.”

Sleuth was reading PR Week this morning. It had a story that there had been 'advanced discussions' regarding the elevation of 20 individuals as Tory peers, some tipped for ministerial roles.

This came via ‘public affairs agency, Mandate Communications, through discussions with Tory MPs and advisers at the Conservative Party conference last week’.

It went on to say: ‘Mandate is now looking to strengthen its relationships with the 20 potential peers, many of whom could be set for ministerial posts in a Conservative government.

‘Mandate's public affairs managing director Fiona Mason told PRWeek: “Through a number of discussions with senior Conservatives, Mandate has a clear view of the Conservative leadership's plans to create a large number of new peers at the start of a new Tory government. The Conservatives are planning to use Lords' appointments to sprinkle some star dust on their front bench. David Cameron is keen to bring to the fore a range of policy and technical experts who have stronger knowledge of the wider world than many of his MPs... Some of the new Tory peers are poised to take on ministerial posts; others will be even more influential, sitting at the back of the red benches.”

The twenty include Location, Location, Location’s Kirsty Allsop (“I recommend a house in the Downing Street area, David love), Tim Berners Lee (inventor of the internet), Stuart Rose (Marks & Spencer Chairman), Jonathan Porritt (environmental campaigner) and our own Sir Howard Bernstein (if you don’t know who he is, leave the city now).

Sir Howard Bernstein leads the Tories in song: "Blue Moon....."

Who’d have thought it?

Sir Howard is, Sleuth assumes, included for the way – according to lots of commentators - he’s helped turned Manchester into the dynamic metropolis we know today. Manchester is seen in Whitehall as the model post-industrial UK city and Sir Howard it seems might be a good adviser on how to bring the public and private sector together to sort urban blight and get the economy moving across the country.

Sleuth adores the phrase ‘star dust’ in the quote from Mason there. For Sir Howard it’s probably more likely that he will sprinkle gold-dust given our good Chief Executive’s joy of shiny personal adornment.

Sleuth rang the Council to see what they made of the PR Week story. Eventually he got someone to give him a quote: “This is a personal matter for the Chief Executive,” came the reply. “Suffice to say it’s causing a right laugh around the Town Hall. Although we reckon he’s prouder of being the Honorary President of Manchester City Football Club than being, apparently, on a list of prospective Conservative peers.”

“So a true Blue, then?” asked Sleuth.

“You could say that,” said the Council bod.