The chaos in Ukip and the Labour leadership race has allowed Number 10 to quietly finish off the task of constructing a new government without too much attention. The distribution of ministerial posts has gone down as well as can be expected. Enough people have been brought back and rebels brought in to give most MPs hope, which is one of the main purposes of reshuffles.
Today’s appointments are particularly astute. The economist and former Goldman Sachs banker Jim O’Neill becomes a Lord and the Treasury minister in charge of city deals, which should ensure that George Osborne’s northern powerhouse continues to move forward. While George Bridges, a veteran of John Major’s Downing Street who returned to help with this campaign and correctly predicted the number of seats the Tories would win, becomes a peer and a Cabinet Office Minister. Bridges will help ensure that the centre has a ‘grip’.
Downing Street is also bringing Sheridan Westlake into its operation. Westlake, who used to work for Eric Pickles, is a Stakhanovite and a master of detail. Number 10 say that his role will be to go ‘through the smallprint of everything to make sure nothing is slipped in or slips through.’
Cameron is acutely aware that he is governing with a small majority, which partly explains the attention he is paying to party management. I also understand that the Tories will try and do a lot of legislating on Thursdays in the hope that SNP MPs won’t be around then. Downing Street has told Ministers that unless they are in the Foreign Office, DFID or the MoD, they’ll need direct permission from the Prime Minister’s office before committing to any foreign travel. They have also been informed that they should not be away from London on days when parliament is sitting.
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