One of the issues that David Cameron is contemplating at the moment is the timing of the reshuffle. I hear that he devoted a considerable chunk of last week to thinking about the structure he wants for the government.
The pressing matter that has been delaying the move is doubts over whether certain ministers could survive or not; no Prime Minister wants to freshen up his government only to have to make more changes a few weeks later. So, it was deemed to be impossible to do one before Jeremy Hunt appeared before the Leveson Inquiry. Now, some in Number 10 think that the Prime Minister will have to wait until the investigations into Sayeeda Warsi’s expenses are complete.
But I suspect that this latest episode has strengthened the hand of those who argue that Warsi needs to be shuffled out of the job of party co-chairman. There’s a sense that in these difficult times for the government, the Tories need someone in that job who is both a strong media performer and has a good relationship with the parliamentary party. There’s a lot of chatter about whether or not Warsi might be moved to some minister of state level job, but still attending Cabinet, that’s been specifically created for her.
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