Boris sounds the charge on Brexit

New PM risks making serious mistakes by rushing ahead surrounded by an inexperienced Cabinet

Boris Johnson clearly wanted to hit the ground running. And, with 98 days now remaining until Brexit, that does make sense.

His first speech as Prime Minister was a riot of positivity designed to put those he described as “gloomsters” in their place. And that place was not anywhere near his Cabinet.

In what even Leave-supporting Conservative MP Nigel Evans described as “not so much a reshuffle, as a summer’s day massacre”, Johnson cast aside a host of Cabinet ministers, notably including foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, defence secretary Penny Mordaunt, a staunch Brexiteer, and Scottish secretary David Mundell.

When she became prime minister, Theresa May adopted a “big tent” approach with a Cabinet that included Johnson and other Brexiteers as well as former Remainers. In contrast, Johnson has gone for a “small tent” strategy, which should mean decision-making is more simple, but carries the risk that the decisions made will be “simple” in a different sense – stupid.

A Cabinet of relatively inexperienced politicians who may be overawed by Johnson’s flowery rhetoric, ebullient nature and apparent passion for Brexit may not have the

ability or the character required to stand up to him if necessary, to make him think twice or simply to point out the thing he hasn’t thought of or read – like paragraph 5C of article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as BBC journalist Andrew Neil did after Johnson tried to cite paragraph 5B in a discussion of future arrangements with the EU.

The appointment of Dominic Raab, the main proponent of suspending the Westminster Parliament to stop MPS preventing a nodeal Brexit, as Foreign Secretary is also a worrying sign. On the plus side, it is right and fair that Johnson has unilaterally pledged to guarantee the rights of the 3.2 million EU nationals in the UK. But his threat to withhold the £39 billion Brexit divorce bill in the event of a no-deal is a serious mistake. The UK must settle its debts, not run out on the EU like a member of the Bullingdon Club who assumes someone else will pick up the tab. Some of this money is required to pay people’s pensions, after all. Failing to pay up will likely force the EU to take legal action, with serious knock-on effects to diplomatic relations.

Anyone who runs too quickly is heading for a fall. In this case, it’s the UK that will get hurt.