Johnson brings Treasury to heel
Javid resigns as Chancellor after battle with No10 as Prime Minister takes total control of government
BORIS JOHNSON yesterday seized control of the Treasury in the biggest political power grab of modern times, sparking the Chancellor’s resignation.
Sajid Javid quit the post after being told his entire team of advisers would be sacked and replaced with No10 appointees in a joint economic unit – an ultimatum he said “no self-respecting minister” could accept.
The Prime Minister and Dominic Cummings, his chief aide, put themselves in total control of the next Budget as they annexed No11 and installed Rishi Sunak, 39, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as Chancellor.
The move followed years of frustration among senior Brexiteers who believed that the Treasury was seeking to thwart Britain’s exit from the EU.
In recent weeks, this was compounded by growing alarm over preparations for next month’s Budget after leaks suggested the Chancellor was considering a new mansion tax and the removal of tax relief for higher earners.
Free-market Conservatives hoped Mr Sunak would use the forthcoming Budget to cut taxes and boost enterprise in the wake of Brexit, and clear the way for Mr Johnson’s planned spending spree on infrastructure.
However, Mr Javid condemned the plans to rein in the Treasury. In a withering parting shot at the Prime Minister, he suggested the Treasury had lost “credibility” as a result.
On a day of drama in Westminster, No10 was unable to say whether the Budget would still go ahead on March 11, or would have to be postponed following Mr Javid’s unexpected departure. Downing Street also refused to say whether the fiscal rules set down by Mr Javid would still apply.
His resignation followed months of tension between No10 and the Treasury, which began during the Tory leadership contest and included regular clashes over government spending.
Mr Javid was the highest profile and most unexpected casualty as Mr Johnson culled ministers who dissented or underwhelmed, and trimmed the Cabinet from 31 to 26 attendees.
Julian Smith, Andrea Leadsom and Geoffrey Cox lost their jobs as Northern Ireland Secretary, Business Secretary and Attorney General respectively, after clashing with Mr Johnson.
Mr Cox was replaced by Suella Braverman, a former Brexit minister, a surprise appointment expected to lead a crackdown on the judiciary after attacking “judicial activism” and saying judges were “trespassing” on politics.
Alok Sharma, promoted from international development to Business Secretary, will also take charge of the COP 26 Glasgow climate conference. He was replaced as International Development Secretary by Anne-marie Trevelyan.
Oliver Dowden was promoted from paymaster general to Culture Secretary, replacing the departing Baroness
Morgan of Cotes, while Stephen Barclay, the former Brexit secretary, returned to Cabinet as Mr Sunak’s replacement as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Ben Wallace held on to his role as Defence Secretary.
By merging No10 and No11 advisory teams, Mr Johnson believes he can eliminate the sort of power struggles that blighted the administrations of Theresa May, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher – and pave the way for radical reforms across government. However, the move drew criticism from some Conservatives, as one suggested Mr Javid’s departure was “orchestrated” and that Mr Johnson “wants to be his own chancellor”.
One Whitehall source described it as a “hostile takeover” of the Treasury.
Downing Street sources insisted Mr Javid’s resignation had been “a sur- prise” and that Mr Johnson would have “loved” him to stay on. But Mr Johnson had made it clear that “watertight” cooperation between No10 and No11 was essential, necessitating a merger of their teams. All five of Mr Javid’s special advisers, including Mats Persson, his chief of staff, were sacked.
One source said: “The PM sees the model for success as being the sort of cooperation David Cameron and George Osborne had. He won’t allow a Blair/brown situation to develop.
“It’s all about delivery, the best way to deliver on the promises we made to this country. There won’t be a cigarette
paper between the two. We will build a team that has one voice.”
Allies of Mr Javid said Mr Johnson and Mr Cummings “want to write the Budget themselves” and wanted him to be Chancellor in name only.
In his resignation letter, Mr Javid warned the Prime Minister: “I would urge you to ensure the Treasury as an institution retains as much credibility as possible”, implying that its credibility had already been diminished. One friend of Mr Javid claimed Mr Sunak, his successor and former deputy, had been “knifing him in the back for six months”.
Speaking outside his London home, Mr Javid took a swipe at Mr Sunak by saying he had been told his entire team would be made redundant, and “I don’t believe any self-respecting minister would accept such conditions, and therefore I thought the best thing to do was to go”. At least two other ministers stayed on in their roles despite being told Mr Cummings would sack their advisers.
Theresa Villiers, Esther Mcvey and Chris Skidmore were ousted as environment, housing and universities ministers. Ms Villiers was replaced by George Eustice, her deputy.
Nusrat Ghani and George Freeman were sacked as transport ministers as the Prime Minister prepared to implement the biggest infrastructure investment since Victorian times. The new Cabinet is the youngest ever, with seven in 10 ministers privately educated – the highest proportion since 1992.
Mr Johnson cut the number of people attending Cabinet from 31 to 26. As well as the 22 full ministerial posts, only four others will attend, instead of nine. The Paymaster General, housing minister and environment minister are among those who no longer attend.