It may only be Seb Payne’s first week in the driver’s seat at Tory think tank Onward, although that hasn’t stopped the obvious speculation about what might come next. Appearing on Iain Dale’s All Talk podcast this week, Payne was noticeably evasive when questioned on what his long-term plans might well be. Arriving armed with “a variety of Boris Johnson-esque answers ready” to swat away the speculation – hint hint…

“…I think what I would say is I’ve got this really good opportunity at Onward, that is my singular focus at present. And who knows what the future will bring… I am fully focused on Onward…”

Dale wasn’t letting him off, with Payne eventually conceding “the reason that I’m saying what I’m saying, Iain, is because I have just started a new job, and talking about what I might do in the future is not helpful towards the new organisation.” He did at least add that when he ran to be college president at university, he used “No Payne, No Gain” as his slogan. Might come in handy again at some point…