A Herculean to-do list is what voters really care about
CABINET departures can break prime ministers and those of chancellors are traditionally seen as the most damaging of all. The exit of Nigel Lawson undoubtedly hastened the end for Margaret Thatcher, while Tony Blair never dared to risk Gordon Brown resigning and therefore often gave way to him, despite wishing on several occasions that he could install someone else at the Treasury.
But context is everything and nobody should invest that kind of importance in the departure of Sajid Javid from Boris Johnson’s administration.
For all his promise, Javid was a rookie chancellor yet to deliver any Budget. And, unlike Mrs Thatcher when Lawson resigned in 1989, Johnson is a prime minister in his pomp.
He has just been given a massive mandate after an election campaign that revolved almost entirely around his personality and a set of key personal promises to the public.
How well he does in fulfilling those core pledges, not how he gets on with sundry lesser political figures, will be the determinant of the Government’s fortunes.
THOSE central promises are to Get Brexit Done (which now means exiting the transition phase in good shape on December 31), significantly improve the NHS, deliver a meaningful law and order crackdown and to make life noticeably better in the former RedWall seats across the North and the Midlands that turned Tory in December.
So long as Mr Johnson maintains a relentless focus on these goals then his status as king of the political jungle will not be under threat. And his Cabinet reshuffle leaves him well placed on all those fronts.
Javid, who campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum, was the one senior figure in the Cabinet seen as having the potential to go wobbly on the
Government’s negotiating line that it would prefer to move to WTO trading terms with the EU than accept continuing compulsory alignment with its rules.
His replacement by Rishi Sunak, who campaigned for Leave, means all four great offices of state – Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Chancellor – are now occupied by resolute Brexiteers. This will be noticed in Brussels. There is now no prospect of the EU using splits in the UK Government to undermine Britain’s negotiating leverage. The top end of the Cabinet is rock-solid behind the Prime Minister and the others will fall into line or be fired.
This means Brussels will go into the next round of negotiations, starting in March, knowing that the threat of Britain walking away if the terms it offers are unsatisfactory is real. That is a massive advance.When it comes to the NHS, the replacement of the instinctive fiscal hawk Javid with a figure more under Johnson’s control means much-needed extra cash can be ploughed in sooner.
The Prime Minister needs to understand that, while more funding is a necessary factor in making the NHS better, it is by no means sufficient on its own.
A wider reform agenda, including a comprehensive new policy on social care for the frail elderly, is also urgently needed.
But there is every sign that Health Secretary Matthew Hancock, wisely left in place in the reshuffle, gets this.
In the area of law and order, robust Home Secretary Priti Patel has been sent reinforcements in the shape of new Attorney General Suella Braverman. Ms Braverman, another conviction politician and rock solid Brexiteer, has spoken out several times against the use of human rights laws to secure lax treatment for criminals. She will not hesitate to take on the legal establishment to force changes in this regard and ensure that the protection of the law-abiding public is restored as the central aim of the criminal justice system.
AND when it comes to getting the economy motoring in those former Labour seats that put their faith in Mr Johnson, the new sway No 10 has over No 11 will be hugely important.
In effect, Mr Johnson has given the PM’s traditional courtesy title, First Lord of the Treasury, real meaning.
If he wishes to do something radical on regional policy to advantage these constituencies, then arcane Treasury rules are not going to get in the way.
Piers Morgan once observed that politics is showbiz for ugly people and it will certainly continue to serve as a soap opera for the serious-minded.
But the “labours of Boris”, set for him by the public, are clear: Brexit, health, crime and the state of our post-industrial towns and cities. So long as he delivers on these issues then the electorate will stick by him.
‘The ‘labours of Boris’, set for him by the public, are clear’