Cameron’s threadbare praetorian guard

One of the worst kept secrets of David Cameron’s leadership is that some in the inner circle don’t think much of the members of the shadow Cabinet who are now in Cabinet. What is far more dangerous is when the leader himself lets slip his low opinion of some of his colleagues, as Ben Brogan reports he has been doing lately. This is the kind of behaviour that is bound to cause resentment as this criticism always get back to the objects of it.
 
At the moment, Cameron can get away with this. He is still seen as the Tories’ primary electoral asset and there is no obvious, or even viable, alternative to him. But when Cameron gets into trouble, this will matter. Politicians don’t forget criticism from their colleagues and there’ll be a few ministers who wouldn’t mind seeing Cameron discomforted a bit. 
 
In general, Cameron needs to make some more personal allies. It is striking how few MPs are personal Cameron loyalists. As the going gets tougher over the coming months, Cameron is going to need some praetorians who’ll happily walk into the fire for him. He needs to assemble this group from a position of strength not weakness.