Editorial Comment:

These certainly are unusual political times. Brexit dominates debate and the Government has no Commons majority. But while such a predicament normally imposes strict self-discipline on ministers, Theresa May struggles to control her Cabinet. Senior ministers are openly arguing among themselves and some even feel emboldened to attack the Prime Minister personally, or disagree with Government policy, with impunity.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, has denounced Mrs May’s favoured plan for a Brexit customs deal as “crazy” and absented himself from a vote on Heathrow airport expansion without any reproof. Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, is believed to have condemned Mrs May’s decision to give more money to the NHS if that means skimping on defence. Mr Williamson reportedly told Army chiefs: “I made her, I can break her.”

Normally such criticism of the Prime Minister is followed by an explanation, a denial, an apology or a letter of resignation. But while Mr Williamson’s allies said he did not recognise the language used, he evidently does not disavow the sentiment.

Today, we carry an article by Liz Truss, the Treasury chief secretary, castigating her “macho” colleagues for demanding more public spending promises, even though foremost among them is the £20 billion annual boost to the health budget. We happen to agree with Mr Williamson and Ms Truss. The defence of the realm is government’s primary duty and cannot be cheesepared. The suggestion that Mrs May is considering reducing Britain’s Tier One defence status is troubling. Ms Truss is also right to say that the Government needs to retain its fiscal discipline and not just load debt on to future generations for what might be a short-term political dividend. The cost of paying the interest on our national debt is greater than the entire defence budget.

We are all for open debate but it needs to avoid confusing voters over what the Conservatives stand for. When Mrs May became Prime Minister two years ago, she held out the promise of a return to proper Cabinet government. Yet her colleagues seemingly feel they can only get their views across or discover where Mrs May stands on a particular issue by making a public fuss. Policies should be decided upon collectively and presented as a coherent programme, with hard choices made and stuck to by all concerned.