Amateur hour…another poorly executed ministerial reshuffle

Oh dear. The best that could be said about the last two days is that reshuffles don’t really matter. Most names are unheard of by the public and it is the longer term, overall perception of Prime Ministerial/Government competence and key policies that matter.

Umm…this week does not contribute to the perception of a Prime Minister in command. At the very least, like a lot of her predecessors, she needs better HR advice/procedures!

How could the mistake be made about Chris Grayling, Chairman of the Party for 27 seconds…? Why wasn’t the disappointing departure of Justine Greening foreseen? Why was Jeremy Hunt’s rumoured promotion allowed to gain legs? Surely it was also obvious he wouldn’t want to be pushed sideways in the middle of an NHS crisis. Why has the awful Andrea Leadsom been allowed to stay on? The list of gripes is endless. Reshuffles are much harder to execute than it seems from the outside but this one involved a series of unforced errors exacerbated by an unpleasant and inaccurate advance rumour mill.

At Cabinet level, there has been a revolving door of Justice, Education, DWP ministers to name but a few. No wonder there is a belief that the Civil Service really runs government.

The good news is that there is a talented cadre of up-and-coming ministers seen on the second day of the reshuffle. If only the public knew some of them, they would realise there is far more depth to the Conservative Party than simply visible around the Cabinet table. Theresa May staying on is good news if it means the next leader comes from this generation.

Lastly, insiderightpolitics (that is me…), will be in the audience (sadly not on the panel…) of this week’s Question Time cheering Gina Miller and booing Piers Morgan. Tune in!