David Lidington is the most powerful minister you’ve never heard of. He is Theresa May’s de facto deputy, tasked with both supervising the domestic agenda and solving the trickiest Brexit conundrums. And the Sunday newspaper front pages talk about a plot to enstool him as a caretaker Prime Minister: an idea supported, we read, by Amber Rudd, Greg Clark, David Gauke and Philip Hammond: all of whom campaigned against Brexit in the referendum and are most likely to support a customs union-style Brexit favoured by Labour. Lidington is understood to have held talks with Labour a few days ago to implementing a version of this, using Labour support to win a parliamentary majority and overcome opposition from Tory backbenches.
Lidington is in pole position precisely because of his low profile: no one can really see him staying as Prime Minister if he occupied the role on a caretaker basis. He seldom gives interviews.
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