One month after Hamas launched its attack against Israel, James Cleverly has found himself as the favourite cabinet minister among party members for the first time, with his net satisfaction ratings scoring an impressive +71.8 points, according to a poll by Conservative Home. Cleverly didn’t have a huge media presence before last month, though his increased online and media visibility in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war has boosted his ratings by 20 points. Cleverly isn’t campaigning for the leadership, though MPs may yet end up thinking him the safest choice…
Cabinet Ministers in the red include Jeremy Hunt, whose refusal to budge on tax cuts hasn’t found favour with party faithful, giving him a -23 points, and Therese Coffey, whose rating is an unfair -27 points. CCHQ will be disappointed with much loved Party Chairman Greg Hands’ low score of -15.5. Rishi is still scoring low at 7.1 points, though he’ll forlornly hope that his ratings may see a boost after the King’s Speech today. Stay tuned…
Ben Wallace will not be throwing his hat in the ring to succeed Tobias Ellwood as the Chairman of the Commons’ Defence Select Committee. According to the Express, a source “close to” Wallace says he has no interest in the job, in part because it would involve “marking his own homework” so soon after his tenure at the MoD. Many think he should have got NATO Secretary General, despite ruling that out as well…
Nominations to the vacancy will be restricted to Tories, with the role allocated to the party after the 2019 election. There is speculation Liam Fox is mulling a bid, having missed out on a return as Defence Secretary after Wallace’s departure (despite the briefings). Mark Francois has some support from the Tory right, although given all MPs have a vote he may struggle to get over the line. James Sunderland and Sarah Atherton are also possible contenders. Recent Chinese spy revelations are also thought to have hampered potential bids by MPs affected. The vote will take place after the month-long party conference recess. Some advice for whoever wins: try not to do the Taliban’s PR for them…
Ben Wallace has resigned this morning as Defence Secretary. He submitted his resignation letter to Downing Street minutes ago:
“I genuinely believe that over the next decade the world will get more insecure and more unstable. We both share the belief that now is the time to invest. Ever since I joined the Army I have dedicated myself to serving my country. That dedication however comes at a personal toll to me and my family. After much reflection, I have taken the decision to ask that I be allowed to step down. I won my seat in 2005 and after so many years it is time for me to invest in the parts of life that I have neglected, and to explore new opportunities.”
Read the full letter, and Rishi’s response, below:
As we go in to recess, the reshuffle drum is reverberating louder and louder. Ben Wallace is out – his public line being he’s done his bit after 24 years in politics. He’s split from his wife, the boundary changes have wiped out his seat, he detests the PM and he didn’t get the NATO job. As the Tories head for opposition, who can blame him for wanting to spend more lucrative time with defence contractors. Which means there are going to be Defence Secretary manoeuvres…
Guido thinks commentators suggesting Rishi should move James Cleverly from the Foreign Office to the Ministry of Defence are foolish to think there is a political, government or party problem to which the strategic answer is realistically moving Cleverly out of the Foreign Office. He’s been in the building for 3 years, with 11 months as Foreign Secretary. He’s proved his value and capability and has shown he is a steady pair of hands and has built the kind of strategic personal relationships that really count at the top diplomatic tables. He even has a character role in Netflix’s “The Diplomat”.
Nobody obvious could realistically do a better job at the Foreign Office, there are however two people who could feasibly, and in fact probably, do a good job at Defence; Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt. There is one of course who’s done it before… and can carry a sword…
Ben Wallace has spoken out on his resignation and rumours around an impending reshuffle. Speaking at the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain Conference, Wallace said Rishi was “surprised” by his resignation though “understood the reasons”. Ben then commented on rumours of an impending reshuffle, as reported by The Sun:
“Depends who you talk to at the top of government. I spoke to one very senior member of the civil service who said it’s definitely happening this week. I spoke to a very senior member of the government, a minister, who said it’s not gonna happen this week. But it’s gonna happen. It’s gonna happen either this week or the first week of September…”
Tom Tugendhat will be counting the days…
