Mrs May needs the right team around her

Cabinet reshuffles are much-anticipated political events, though their impact is often less dramatic than all the comings and goings would lead us to expect. It all depends on what they are supposed to achieve. The changes expected today have partly been brought about by the resignation before Christmas of Damian Green as First Secretary of State.

While that specific post does not need to be filled, the vacancy at the top table affords Theresa May an opportunity to move out those ministers who are deemed to have failed and elevate those who have shown promise.

But this must be more than just a managerial exercise. The Government faces what is arguably the most crucial 12 months in recent UK history, the year when the country’s long-term future will be decided. Brexit will inevitably influence the Prime Minister’s dispositions, with the prospect of a minister charged with preparing the country for no deal, a pragmatic, if controversial, idea. It is of paramount importance that the team at the centre of these momentous events should be of the highest possible calibre. This means promotions should be made on the basis of ability and not of tokenism.

More women are needed in top jobs but they should be chosen because they can fulfil the task better than the person they replace, not in pursuit of gender balance only. Nor should it be necessary always to match Brexit-supporting ministers with Remainers, since the Government as a whole is signed up to leaving the EU.

Outside of Westminster, voters rarely notice reshuffles unless the very top posts are involved. That seems unlikely, both because Mrs May has spoken of her desire for continuity and because last June’s disappointing election result undermined her authority. Moreover, sweeping changes of personnel smack of panic, as with Harold Macmillan’s so-called “Night of the Long Knives” in 1962, when one third of the Cabinet was dismissed.

Nothing so drastic is needed today; but the sense of drift that was apparent before Christmas needs to be arrested. Reshuffles can reinvigorate and improve morale among junior ranks and backbenchers who feel their efforts are otherwise being overlooked. New ministers can bring fresh ideas to departments that have lost focus and direction. Mrs May was given a new lease of life by the way she handled the first phase of the Brexit negotiations. She needs to build on that with the right team around her.