Yes ministers chant in sync
Pantomine moments in No10 as Cabinet gathers
BORIS Johnson turned the first Cabinet meeting since his power-grab reshuffle into a kids’ panto – by forcing ministers to chant election slogans.
The Prime Minister first asked the relieved ‘Yes’ men and women who survived his brutal sackings: “How many hospitals are we going to build?” They replied: “Forty.”
He grinned: “Well done” then added: “How many more police?” The loyal response: “Twenty thousand.”
PM: “That’s right. How many more nurses?” Chorus: “Fifty thousand.”
The bizarre exchanges came 24 hours after Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor – after refusing demands to sack all his advisers.
It plunged the PM’s long-planned reshuffle into turmoil.Critics claimed the PM’s chief aide Dominic Cummings was pulling the strings behind the reshuffle but Communities Secretary Robert
Jenrick insisted Mr Johnson was “very much in charge” and denied new Chancellor Rishi Sunak would be a No10 “puppet”.
Outside No10, ex-ministers mulled over their demise. Ousted Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said: “My future plans involve things like going to the pub”. But he added: “I wish the new Cabinet and new Secretary of State all the best of luck.” Mr Javid, asked if he had a message for Mr Johnson, replied: “Happy Valentine’s Day”. His former aide Salma Shah said being unable to choose his advisers would have been “incredibly detrimental to his decision-making power”. Ministers later agreed a plan for points-based immigration. “The system will be fairer,” No10 said and insisted net migration would fall.