Now Mrs May ditches Dave’s cosy No10 sofas for a table in the study
THERESA May has brought an end to the controversial style of ‘sofa government’ so beloved of David Cameron and Tony Blair.
In a move which aides say symbolises her new approach, the cosy sofas have been pushed to the side of her No 10 study – and a table installed in the centre of the room.
Key meetings with ministers and advisers now take place in a more formal setting, rather than over coffee with ‘limbs draped over the arms of chairs’. One aide said: ‘This is about doing the business of government properly.’
In another break with the Cameron years, an extra table added to the end of the historic Cabinet table has been removed, mean- ing junior ministers are no longer invited. During Mr Cameron’s reign, seven ministers, such as Anna Soubry, were allowed to ‘attend Cabinet’ to keep rising stars happy – and bolster female representation.
Tony Blair introduced the concept of sofa government to No10, in which key decisions were taken informally by a cabal of advisers. Mr Cameron was accused by his critics of continuing the practice.
Like Mr Blair, he surrounded himself with contemporaries from his days at Eton and Oxford, such as chief of staff Ed Llewellyn and university pal Lord Feldman, who was Tory party chairman. Insiders said that meetings would often consist of a group of aides perched on the armrests of the No10 settees.
While the sofa meetings may be over, Mr Cameron has ensured that his old friends are not forgotten – with at least 16 due to be handed gongs next month in a resignation honours list.
The dangers of sofa government were laid bare by the Chilcot report into the Iraq war. It described how Mr Blair exploited ‘group-think’ to railroad through the invasion.