We haven’t heard much from George Osborne since the referendum, but that will change tomorrow morning. He’s due to make a statement, according to the Times, which also says that the Chancellor he is considering giving his backing to Boris Johnson’s leadership ambitions in exchange for being made Foreign Secretary.
I’m not so sure that this would be a good idea. In Brexit Britain, being Foreign Secretary will be perhaps the most important job in the Cabinet (other than the Prime Minister). It will involve renegotiating our relationship with Europe – not just the EU itself, but making immediate and strenuous efforts to strike a whole new series of bilateral deals. It will mean touring foreign capitals, reassuring our neighbours that Britain has not lost its head and is not turning in on itself. That we’re keen to work towards a new model of European relations, one based on liberty, respect for sovereignty and co-operation in shared endeavour.
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