I’m not sure that Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle was the disaster that political commentators would have us believe, but it wasn’t great.
It wasn’t that two Secretaries of State refused to move, or that Justine Greening preferred to resign rather than move to Work and Pensions that showed how weak Theresa May’s position really is.
Rather, it was that as many as 19 Secretaries of State stayed in their posts, when we had been heavily briefed in advance that this was going to be a pretty major shake up. It wasn’t.
Of course, a reshuffle rarely goes accordingly to plan. In that respect Theresa May’s reshuffle was no different to most others.
But the fact that she didn’t feel able to undertake a bigger clear out of the cabinet and bring in fresh blood from ministerial ranks is a sign of a PM who doesn’t feel able to, or willing to risk upsetting people and stirring up trouble among cabinet ministers who are sacked and returned to the backbenches.
Theresa May missed an opportunity to seriously reinvigorate this government and demonstrate that she is in charge. She’s in such a weak position any way she had nothing to lose.
Chris Grayling stayed put at Transport. But we have two new transport ministers.
Jo Johnson replaces John Hayes as Minister of State and Nusrat Ghani replaces Paul Maynard at Parliamentary Under Secretary of State level. I have no idea why Paul Maynard was demoted to the Whips Office as, while he hardly set the world alight, nor did he really put a foot wrong either.
I’ve never heard of Nusrat Ghani I’m afraid, so can’t offer any comment on her appointment. A novice MP, having only been elected in 2015, I suspect Chris Grayling will give her a policy portfolio with which she can do little harm.
Jo Johnson is a different beast altogether. He may not have the same profile as his elder brother, Boris, but he does have ministerial experience and is by no means a lightweight.
It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on with Chris Grayling as they don’t strike me as natural bedfellows. Jo Johnson is a strong supporter of the EU and is on the intellectual left wing of the party, while Chris Grayling is a passionate Brexiteer and on the party’s ideological right.
As I write the policy portfolios have yet to be announced so more on that next time.
Not to be outdone, Jeremy Corbyn undertook a modest reshuffle of his shadow team. As a result, a Matt Rodda – who I’ve never heard of either – takes over the buses brief from Cat Smith.
I wonder if he will show more interest in buses than Cat Smith did, although a Labour spokesman showing interest in buses is not necessarily a good thing.
