Through the door of No 10 and straight into a whirlwind

All prime ministers can really do is talk, and hope to be heard. On Wednesday, Jeremy Hunt or Boris Johnson will walk down Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minister. For weeks, everything they have said has been directed at one audience: the Conservative Party.

But as the winner stands outside of No10 and sets out their vision for the country, the world will be listening.

When the new PM steps inside, his political staff and civil servants will line the corridor to clap him in – just as I did for Theresa May three years ago. The Cabinet secretary and principal private secretary will lead him to his office. As part of their preparation, the civil service will have removed the small Lego model of Theresa May giving her first speech as Prime Minister that sits on a windowsill.

Here, the new PM will be briefed on the security issues that are now his

first responsibility. He will write the most solemn words of his life – the letters of last resort that instruct the nuclear deterrent submarine commanders how to respond in case of an attack on the UK. Unlike everything else he says as PM, he’ll never know if these words have their desired effect.

His next task will be telling members of Theresa May’s Cabinet their services are no longer required. In shaping his own team, the most important (and coveted) position is Chancellor. No 10 will be consumed with trying to do what Mrs May could not: secure a majority to take the UK out of the EU. So the task of crafting an election-winning domestic policy platform will in large part fall to No 11. The PM’s choice as a neighbour will be another public signal of the direction he wants to take.

In between calling nervous Cabinet ministers, the No 10 switchboard will set up calls with the leaders of the Scottish and Welsh governments, the Northern Irish parties, other countries around the world, and EU institutions. All will want to hear the new PM’s Brexit plan. The civil service will have prepared briefs for these calls – their first effort to turn campaign rhetoric into negotiation strategy. Whether the new PM sticks to them is another matter.

Luckily, Parliament heads to recess on Thursday, avoiding the headache of preparing for PMQs. But the new Tory leader will need to address MPs before they return to their constituencies.

After a whirlwind 48 hours, the pace will ease. But over the summer, he must plan a tour of the Home Nations and European capitals, a trip to the UN, a party conference, a new Queen’s speech, a Budget, an EU Council and all ahead of the Oct 31 Brexit deadline. Added to this should be discrete but effective planning for an election.

Nothing either candidate has done so far can really prepare them for guiding the UK through its present crisis. But in politics, plan beats no plan. We’ll soon see which of Johnson or Hunt had the right plan to get a majority to back them. But on Wednesday, their audience – and task – changes. MPs, world leaders and the public will all be waiting to hear his plan. If the new PM wants to succeed, he needs them to like what they hear.