ToryDiary

Reshuffle 1) The lesson of this PJ Masks shakeup. For Johnson and Cummings, it is truly Do or Die.

We cheer the mission. But government needs more compromise, art, tact and accomodation than campaigning alone allows.

Smith’s dismissal is Johnson’s second chance to take the Union with Northern Ireland seriously

Grasping this nettle will involve appointing someone prepared to be considerably less popular with sections of the gallery than was their predecessor.

Hunt is partly judging his own legacy. But the Government can still expect him to provide rigorous challenge.

MPs should be allowed to decide if former Ministers are capable of offering independent scrutiny to their successors.

Andrew Gimson’s PMQs sketch: We wait for a new Opposition leader to take the fight to the Prime Minister

And we shall not see a new Leader of the Opposition at Prime Minister’s Questions until 22nd April.

A Mansion Tax. “What is really the problem with this?” asked the Conservative Chancellor

Cameron’s memoirs offer a hint of where the occupant of Number 11 may look to raise property taxes instead.

We still do not understand Spanish flu – so no wonder the danger posed by the coronavirus is unquantifiable

The NHS issues studiously calm advice, and we wait to see whether the disease can be contained.

The “Tory press” are keen to show they will provide the real opposition to the Government

If the Daily Telegraph catches a whiff of threatened tax rises, it will offer pretty robust coverage.

Sinn Fein in government. What’s the fuss about?

Of course the result is a bad one. But we encourage the party to co-govern in Northern Ireland, so can scarcely object if now does so too in the Irish Republic.

Johnson’s reshuffle. If he isn’t Thinking Big it should be Kept Small.

Let Sunak and Dowden join Jenrick at the top table. And that should be about it. If the Coronavirus takes off, Ministerial changes will be the least of our worries.

Rudd and the reshuffle. Not the best woman to make the case for women

If she wants to sound off, fine. But Johnson brought her back, and she then resigned – claiming he didn’t want a Brexit deal. Why should he heed her now?

Local elections 2020: Holding the mayoralties in the Tees Valley and the West Midlands will be key Conservative challenges

But Labour will be under most pressure. They will be defending seats in areas where they performed very poorly in the General Election.