Long life | 21 July 2016

One of David Cameron’s last decisions as prime minister was to get the brass doorbell of No. 10 cleaned. I know this from my friend and Northamptonshire neighbour, Kevin, a brilliant plasterer and decorator, who has been working for years on restoring the fabric of the house in Downing Street. Cameron had noted that the doorbell had gone green and asked Kevin to deal with the problem, so Kevin cleaned it himself.

It’s not as if the bell is often used, for the door tends to open magically when any important visitor arrives. It behaves like an automatic door, but it’s really opened by an unseen doorkeeper whenever the visitor appears on the threshold. I’ve always wondered how the doorkeeper knows when to open the door, because he presumably can’t see the guest or hear him or her arrive; I suppose he must be alerted from someone outside with a walkie-talkie. But the bell features in most official photographs of the prime minister and his VIP guests, so Cameron could have felt that its cleanness was an issue of national prestige.

In any case, the front door has been doing a lot of opening and shutting lately while Theresa May has been forming her new cabinet. I would like to know what prime ministers say to MPs during these encounters. They wouldn’t have any problem when they are offering them jobs, for giving good news is easy. But sacking is much more difficult, and Mrs May fired 11 members of Cameron’s last cabinet. This may not be as many as the judges fired by President Erdogan of Turkey, more than could be fitted into the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden; but it is still a dramatic number by prime ministerial standards.