David Cameron's new Culture Secretary has no personal experience of working in the music trade or any other UK creative industry - including movies, book publishing or video games.
Maria Miller MP has today been named at the successor to Cameron's under-fire former Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who becomes Minister For Health in the PM's new reshuffle.
Miller's professional career involved a five-year stint as an advertising executive at Greys Advertising Ltd, which she joined in 1985.
In 1990, she left to become a marketing manager at fuel company Texaco, before rejoining Greys in 1994 as a director. She then became a director of PR company Rowland Group for four years from 1999.
In Parliament, she was named Shadow Minister for the Family in 2007, and three years later became the Coalition Government's Minister for Disabled People at the Department for Work and Pensions - the role she vacated today.
In what many are seeing as a devaluing of the post of Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport - and a potential distraction from key music industry issues such as the implementation of the Digital Economy Act - Miller also takes on responsibilities as Minister for Women and Equalities, and is expected to divide her time accordingly.
Don Foster, Liberal Democrat culture spokesperson and avid supporter of the Live Music Bill, today raised concerns over this dual role."She will have to find a way of dealing with the dual responsibility for culture and equalities at a department that may not be big by Whitehall standards, but touches on issues that people care passionately about from sport to libraries," he said.
Most of the loudest criticism of Miller heard today, however, has regarded her voting history on more social matters - as subtly pointed out by the subtle picture below from the subtly-named Facebook group 'I Blame David Cameron'. Subtle.
Advertisement
