Is Boris Johnson getting his act together?

 Source - Choppers Politics - Daily Telegraph - 07/02/22

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Afternoon!

Is Boris Johnson getting his act together? It certainly seems so, with the appointment of Steve Barclay, the Cabinet Office minister, to a new role as chief of staff, and Andrew Griffith as head of policy.

Both Barclay and Griffith are of course Conservative MPs who have replaced unelected officials, which if nothing else shows that Johnson is listening to his backbenchers in wanting to strengthen links between Downing Street and Parliament.

The appointment of Barclay is well-deserved. He became the minister who ‘saved Christmas’ late last year after he successfully took over and quietly defused the row over logistics chains that threatened supplies of turkey over the festive break.

His Brexit credentials are without question. He was the only declared Leaver in Theresa May's Whips' Office. And when he became her secretary of state for exiting the European Union, he also voted against his own motion to extend Article 50 - after speaking for it at the despatch box. One senior Brexit-backing MP told me yesterday this showed "courage and principle".

There is some hope too for Tories who want to see a more robust approach to cuts to taxes and discipline over spending. Barclay himself is a former chief secretary to the Treasury who campaigned against large severance payouts to civil servants.

And Griffith wrote for ConservativeHome today of his desire to "bring down the cost of living and return rapidly to the point when we can cut taxes to let everyone keep more of their own money".

More appointments are due soon. Johnson's expected hiring of David Canzini as an adviser (which I first revealed in early December) is intelligent. Canzini has been around senior figures in the Conservative Party for two decades. He has a clear view on how to calm the nerves on the backbenches, which he knows well.

For example, Canzini knows that to tame the restless parliamentary party, Johnson only needs to get close to around two dozen Conservative MPs. The rest will follow their lead.

In a mini-reshuffle, Chris Pincher is also likely to replace Mark Spencer as chief whip, while I expect 'Red Wall' Tories to get paid ministerial jobs.

Johnson will want to show the 2019ers that if they are loyal and avoid pork-pie plots, they can get to make decisions in government. Don't forget, not one was given a paid government job in last September's reshuffle.

There is historical precedent here: in 2012 David Cameron had waited two years before giving ministerial jobs to Tory MPs elected for the first time in 2010.

I also hear from a Tory watcher that Boris Johnson's Praetorian Guard have added in a safety catch before any no-confidence vote. Apparently, the PM's supporters have submitted between five and 10 letters of no confidence in a "hokey cokey" strategy.

This means that if the number of letters accidentally trips over the 54 threshold, Johnson loyalists will withdraw them when 1922 chairman Sir Graham Brady phones round to check their views have not changed. Remember the song? "You put the left one in, you take the left one out ..."

Johnson has also hired his former spin doctor from City Hall - Guto Harri - who knows how to get the best out of him. Harri was right when he said of Johnson on the BBC's Newscast last month: "I don't think he needs to change that much - he needs to cover his weaknesses."

It may be that Johnson is doing just that - in the nick of time.

Cheerio!

Chopper