The safe pair of hands juggling politics’ hottest potatoes

THE FIRST hint that Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill could be in line for a front-bench promotion came in the form of a news bulletin.

He had woken up early to do some tilling in the fields on his family farm when the radio presenter announced the Prime Minister was going to do a reshuffle.

“It came on [that] he was going to promote women and Northern people,” he recalls. “So I thought, perhaps I should go down to London and see what’s happening.”

That was back in 2013 when he secured his first Ministerial role at the Department for Transport.

Since then, he has also held a position at the Home Office, before recently being appointed to the Department for Education.

He describes the new job as a welcome change to his previous assignments, which saw him charged with handling a number of political hot potatoes.

“I was the minister for High Speed 2 (rail) for three years. That was a fairly tricky parliamentary process and tricky managing colleagues as well – particularly when we were going to start bulldozing houses in their constituencies,” he explains. “I was also the Minister for aviation at a time we were making those important decisions on Heathrow and Gatwick, and I managed to steer our way through that without getting myself into too much trouble.

“Whether I was building a high-speed railway, or potentially building a runway, or deporting foreign criminals, I always felt a little bit like the bad guy in the pantomime where people hiss when they come on the stage.

“This role at education is challenging in a different way... I wouldn’t quite describe myself as the fairy godmother, but it’s great to be doing positive things, helping people, making sure children have a better life.”

Goodwill’s promotion to the DfT came after four years of experience as a party whip – a position he believes all MPs should hold prior to entering Government in order “to learn the ropes in Parliament”.

He admits to being surprised at surviving for so long on the front benches, and puts his longevity down to being seen “as a safe pair of hands”.

This is an attribute which will become increasingly invaluable in a minister as the Prime Minister seeks to navigate the tempestuous waters of Brexit.

Demonstrating his loyalty, Goodwill praises Theresa May for bringing together “a Government of all the talents” and providing “steady hand at the tiller”. And he hits out at his colleagues in Government who have sought to sow division.

“I think its right and proper that within a political party you should have a debate about the issues,” he states. “But that debate around the Cabinet table should be precisely that – around the table. The Cabinet need to come to a view as to what the position is, and then everybody should abide by collective responsibility and deliver on that. It’s not helpful for people to be briefing outside that particular scenario... I think [that] gives the impression to some people we’re divided.

“We’re not a debating society, we’re a party in government.”

Despite backing the Remain campaign in last year’s referendum, Goodwill now describes himself as a “Releaver” who is committed to delivering a “genuine” Brexit.

This is in contrast to so-called ‘Remoaners’ like Anna Soubry who the Scarborough MP claims