It’s been a few months since we last reported our Cabinet rankings – mainly because there’s been little change in the interim. But, as now is the time for looking back on the year, we thought we’d rectify that by not only publishing the latest results, but also comparing them to those published in December 2012. Who’s gone up and who’s gone down in 2013? I’ve pasted the latest table, as decided by ConservativeHome readers, below, but here are a few brief comments:
- Osborne-a-go-go. The most striking rise up the league table is probably George Osborne’s. The Chancellor was stuck with a net satisfaction rating of minus 1 per cent at the end of last year. But now he’s risen by 59 points, to the upper reaches of the table. It’s funny what a return to growth, along with a Budget that isn’t stuffed with u-turns, will achieve.
- The rise of Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt. But it’s not just Osborne. May has gone from a net satisfaction rating of 33 per cent at the end of last year to one of 67 per cent now. Hunt has gone from 10 per cent to 56 per cent. They’re both gaining plaudits in jobs that are more often poisonous for their holders, but it’s uncertain whether that will continue. May, of course, faces the potential public backlash from Bulgarian and Romanian immigration, whilst Hunt has the ongoing A&E crisis.
- Slight change at the top… Iain Duncan Smith has traditionally topped our league table rankings, just as he did at the end of last year. But this month Michael Gove surpasses him. IDS’s falling ratings – he’s dropped 7 percentage points since August – could be a response to the failings of the Universal Credit programme.
- …and at the bottom. It’s worth noting that Ed Davey has fallen below Nick Clegg, over this year, in Tory members’ estimations. No doubt that’s reflective of how significant the politics of energy bills have become.
Anyway, here’s the table itself: