Ministers jostle for place behind Raab to take reins if PM deteriorates
Michael Gove could be outranked by Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel amid turf war over chain of command
AFTER Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock were yesterday struck down with coronavirus and confined to living quarters, thoughts in Westminster inevitably turned to the chain of command.
While Downing Street has insisted the Prime Minister’s mild symptoms mean he is able to carry on his duties from home, there are now fears that other senior Cabinet ministers may have become infected – or soon will be.
Should Mr Johnson’s condition deteriorate, the task of steering the country’s response to the pandemic will fall firstly to Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State.
But should Mr Raab also fall ill – despite having tested negative twice in recent weeks – No 10 has so far refused to disclose the line of succession contained in the so-called “designated survivor” plan.
The confusion has already given rise to jostling among Cabinet ministers, with reports suggesting that Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, had been locked in a “turf war” with Mr Hancock.
With the Health Secretary now housebound, Mr Gove may have been expecting an automatic elevation to third in the pecking order.
But last night, a senior government insider told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Gove was in fact outranked by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, and Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, who hold the two other Great Offices of State.
Should Mr Johnson be forced to pass his authority down the chain of command, the source added that he would likely stick to tradition and select according to a minister’s position around the Cabinet table, which, in turn, signifies their prominence.
Under this scenario, Mr Gove would sit fifth in the chain, followed by Robert Buckland, the Lord Chancellor, and Ben Wallace the Defence Secretary.
However, a former Cabinet minister played down the significance of Mr Gove’s lower status, adding that they expected him to be inserted “in the middle” of Mr Raab and Mr Sunak.
They also indicated that Mr Johnson’s loyalties to his Chancellor and Home Secretary could be tested, pointing out that he was able to hand any Cabinet minister the authority to direct other Government ministries in his absence.
“There isn’t a fixed chain. It depends really on where Boris wants to go,” they added.
Should Mr Johnson stick to tradition, next in line would be Mr Hancock, followed by Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary; Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary; and Thérèse Coffey, the Secretary for Work and Pensions.
Although Baroness Evans, the Leader of the House of Lords, sits 20th in order of prominence, the Government is likely to relegate her to the bottom of the pile due to her being a member of “the other place”. The succession would continue down to Amanda Milling, the Conservative Party chairman, who attends Cabinet as the Minister without Portfolio.
While Jacob Rees-mogg, the Commons Leader, attends Cabinet, he is unlikely to be called upon as his role does not come with the same responsibility.
Speaking from Downing Street yesterday, Mr Johnson reassured the public that he would continue to lead the Government while self-isolating.
In a video message published on Twitter, he added: “Be in no doubt that I can continue thanks to the wizardry of modern technology to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against coronavirus.”