Home Secretary will spend more time in her second home

She left with more dignity than she displayed during her tenure but now Jacqui Smith will be able to spend more time in her second home enjoying rented videos. She was completely out of her depth and that's that.

However...

It's all very well for Iain Dale to say that she is a nice person. So what! I'm a nice person. I expect Iain Dale is a nice person. The world is full of nice people. But what we need in positions of power and influence is competence. Niceness is a bonus but it is not required. Nice people can do a lot of damage if they are not wary and we might reflect on the fact that Jacqui Smith, as Home Secretary, was responsible for great losses to many of our ancient freedoms while putting the state's security at more risk. That's some achievment for a "nice" person.

And what is all this nonsense about the Home Office being an impossible job? Difficult maybe, but never a political graveyard. All Home Secretaries up to and including Jack Straw did not appear to be overwhelmed by the job; that has only happened with the last three Home Secretaries. And when you consider who they were there is no need to make any excuses.