This was more Carry On Cleo than Elizabeth I

THERESA May wanted this reshuffle to be a show of strength but it has reinforced a reputation for weakness.

This was a reshuffle entirely in keeping with Mrs May’s style. She regards herself as a modern day Elizabeth I but runs an administration taking its script from Carry On Cleo.

Rather than being queen of all she surveys, this is a PM whose authority is so spent she cannot even sack ministers as uninspiring as Greg Clark or as incompetent as Boris Johnson.

Her idea of a relaunch was to add a couple of words to the job titles of Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid. People who have had ops cancelled or are looking for an affordable place to live are unlikely to be enthused.

It speaks volumes about the PM’s priorities that the only meaningful changes were to bolster Conservative HQ. Instead of addressing the crises in health, housing and social care, she focused on trying to rebuild the party’s rickety campaign apparatus.