Plus: incompetence, resignations, non-resignations, reputations, my holiday, Any Questions and Finkelstein’s book.
They don’t talk about politics in daily life; don’t write to local or national newspapers; most importantly, they’re not politically active online.
Johnson will almost certainly decide to tough it out. But he will have a big problem if school returns prove tricky.
Plus: There is speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle soon, but I hear otherwise…
Meanwhile the Prime Minister continues to slide down the rankings, falling into the 40s for the first time since taking office.
The NHS employs 1.75 million people and is too monolithic. The number of civil servants has risen to 460,000. This is territory which the Chancellor needs to examine in detail.
Johnson, Sunak, Patel – and more. Do not write below the dotted line. Do not use corrective fluid. Unauthorised materials will be confiscated.
We’ve learned nothing at all about his outlook but quite a lot about his capacities during the last tumultuous twelve months.
Three cheers for three reforms: of the civil service, of Ministers and of one that this Government tends to avoid – of public services.
An election that saw them returned to say yes to Brexit and boosterism leaves Johnson vulnerable to events and reality.
If the Prime Minister doesn’t have confidence in his most senior Ministers, it’s impossible to see how anyone else can.
Overall ratings are down but the Chancellor sidesteps this trend and posts another stellar score.
The political logic of the Prime Minister’s choice is solid enough. But we’re past the stage where his Sunday statement can simply be taken on trust.