I should know better. I have been watching BBC News on and off through the day, waiting for the dramatic changes which would “make sure the government reflects the modern and diverse country we live in”. It was too much to hope for the replacement of a Foreign Secretary who has no respect abroad, but there was perhaps a chance that a financially-tainted Home Secretary would be moved out. In the event, the major announcement was that a man from the Midlands has been replaced as party chairman by a genuine Eastender. So much for reflecting the country we live in!
David Lidington, the most intellectual of leading Conservatives and someone who does not seem to linked to any of the factions behind pretenders to the party leadership, becomes effectively deputy PM. Many symbolic appointments in the form of Conservative party vice-chairs have been handed out. Otherwise, it seems that Mrs May dare not sack any of the big beasts and could not persuade any of them to move on.
[Later] I should have watched for longer. The much-leaked move, dismissed as "misguided speculation" by the government earlier today, the firing of the only cabinet minister it was safe to do, occurred three hours ago. It seems that Justine Greening paid the price not only for being competent, but also for not having a faction in the party rooting for her or the support of a national newspaper.
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