New faces in No10 as Johnson attempts to take back control
Prime Minister backs his latest appointments to drive through a ‘reset’ at the heart of government
THEY are the appointments that Boris Johnson hopes will help to deliver the “reset” he needs to put his administration back on track.
And this weekend the Prime Minister and his closest allies are telling wavering MPs why Steve Barclay and Guto Harri will deliver the changes they have demanded in the wake of the “partygate” scandal.
One of the chief complaints has been a sense of drift in No10, and Mr Johnson believes that placing one of the Cabinet’s safest pairs of hands at the helm of his Downing Street operation will deliver the “command and control” that has been lacking in recent months.
The announcement of the two appointments follows a tumultuous week that saw the resignations of Dan Rosenfield, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Martin Reynolds, his most senior official, and Jack Doyle, No10’s communications chief.
The names of Mr Rosenfield, Mr Reynolds and Mr Doyle had all been touted as possible victims of the “partygate” controversy that has seen the Tories’ poll ratings slump.
But the separate departures of Munira Mirza, the No 10 head of policy, who first worked for Mr Johnson at City Hall and Elena Narozanski, a well-liked and “deeply Conservative” adviser, came as a shock to those working in No10.
Even worse was Ms Mirza’s resignation letter, which attacked the Prime Minister for his false suggestion that Sir Keir Starmer had been personally responsible for the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile.
Urging him to apologise in a letter, leaked to The Spectator magazine, she wrote: “It is not too late for you but, I’m sorry to say, it is too late for me.” Perhaps inevitably, the shake-up in Downing Street has been spun differently by Mr Johnson’s supporters and detractors.
For some, the moves show Mr Johnson is delivering on his promise to MPs at a 1922 Committee meeting this week, where he said he would shake up the No10 operation, listen more to his backbenchers and fix his communications strategy in the wake of Sue Gray’s “partygate” report.
Mr Barclay is a Brexiteer and a hawk on the economy, who clashed with ministers over huge spending demands during his time as chief secretary to the Treasury. One Tory source said: “He does get it and was very good at the Treasury. He will bring rigour.”
An MP since 2010 and a former whip, Mr Barclay is in a good position to repair relations with backbenchers and ministers. One government source claimed that Mr Rosenfield’s handling of such relationships was “awful”.
Another government source said: “This could be a cleaning out the Augean stables moment, but if more people like Munira and Elena go it’s a collapse.”
The most important question for many is whether the personnel changes will satisfy wavering MPs who are still considering sending in their letter of no confidence.
On Friday, another MP, Aaron Bell, announced his had been added to the pile in Sir Graham Brady’s in-tray, declaring: “The breach of trust that the events in No10 Downing Street represent, and the manner in which they have been handled, makes his position untenable.”
Several MPs who spoke to The Sunday Telegraph said they believed the string of resignations in Downing Street would convince MPs who already have doubts about Mr Johnson that he has lost control of his own administration.
“I think more will put them in, because they just think the whole thing appears chaotic, and so it sort of moves on from people’s original reasons for being disgruntled,” said one senior Tory.
“It’s just the sense that it’s a complete shambles.”
Last night, one No10 source said of the new appointments: “These men have a gargantuan task ahead of them. They will have the full support of the No 10 team, not least because this is the last chance saloon.”
Disaffection with Mr Johnson’s leadership has swept through almost all of the Tory tribes. In the case of Eurosceptics, one Brexiteer said that
Mr Johnson would enjoy their support only as long as he made good on his promise to fully deliver Brexit, by overhauling the
Northern
Ireland protocol.
The MP said of his colleagues: “They are propping Boris up because they genuinely believe that he is a better bet on the protocol than Rishi [Sunak] or Liz [Truss]. If he doesn’t look like he’ll deliver on the protocol then they will drop him ruthlessly.”
One commonly touted contender to succeed Mr Johnson is said to have begun putting together a campaign team of MPs last week, as speculation mounted about a possible vote of no confidence. Mr Barclay and Mr Harri certainly do appear to have a mountain to climb.
Speaking before their appointments, one Tory donor said: “I don’t understand Boris. He has gone against everything he wrote for 20 years.
“I’ve given up on him, and I never thought I’d say that. Treachery isn’t the beginning of it.”
The “frankly bleak” atmosphere in government is worsened by the threat that more members of the Downing Street policy unit could resign, according to one special adviser. Andrew Griffith, Ms Mirza’s replacement as policy chief, is, like Mr Barclay, an MP. He previously served as the youngest financial director in the FTSE 100, as finance chief of Sky aged 37. Insiders hope that the combination of Mr Barclay and Mr Griffith could help bring disaffected backbenchers back into the fold.
They could be “part of a process whereby backbenchers feel more listened to,” said one MP.
But the MP said of Mr Griffith: “I’m not really sure what his policy background is, and I’m not really sure how good his understanding is of voters in ‘red wall’ constituencies and more deprived parts of the country.”
Mr Barclay has been tasked with overseeing a rupture from the interventionist, big-government era of Covid-19.
Last night one minister said: “This is a very welcome reset, with political leadership, the appointment of Andrew Griffith to the policy unit, proper engagement and a desire for Cabinet government.”
Mr Johnson is also in talks to formalise roles for Sir Lynton Crosby, the Australian election guru, and David Canzini, a director at Sir Lynton’s firm CTF Partners who has known the Prime Minister for more than two decades.
Sir Lynton and Mr Canzini are believed to be awaiting the final
‘This could be a cleaning out of the Augean stables, but if more people like Munira and Elena go it’s a collapse’
‘These men have a gargantuan task ahead of them. They will have the full support of the No10 team’
results of the “reset” before deciding whether to join Mr Johnson’s renewed operation.
They are said to see little gain in helping Mr Johnson unless he parts ways with other aides who have regularly clashed with MPs.
Last night it was announced that Henry Newman, who has drawn flak from backbenchers over several policies, was leaving No10 to return to work for his old boss, Michael Gove.
Meanwhile, retaining his position chairing a series of Cabinet committees, Mr Barclay will essentially lead a Cabinet Office takeover of the beleaguered No10 structure.
Mr Harri will attempt to calm troubled waters, as he seeks to assuage public anger over the breaches of Covid-19 rules and disseminate the pledges and deeds of Mr Johnson’s new operation to MPs and the public.
This weekend, the Prime Minister will be hoping that MPs give him the time to do so.