What happened in Westminster?
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak reshuffled his cabinet for perhaps the final time before the election next year. He took two huge decisions. The first was to sack the home secretary, Suella Braverman, an outspoken right-wing firebrand who had continually undermined his authority.
What did she do this time?
A week earlier, Braverman had pushed for new rules to prevent charities giving tents to people who were homeless and on the streets. She described homelessness as a “lifestyle choice”. Her comments attracted an onslaught of criticism that overshadowed the king’s speech, when the monarch dons his finery to announce the UK government’s legislative plans for the next session of parliament.
Days later, Braverman defied Sunak’s request to tone down an opinion article for the Times newspaper, in which she accused London’s Metropolitan police of being biased in favour of pro-Palestinian protesters, whom she characterised as supporters of terrorism.
She was accused of undermining the independence of the Met and of cranking up tensions as officers struggled to police huge weekend demonstrations in London over the war in Gaza. Her comments also caused a row that overshadowed ceremonies for Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, when the British honour their fallen soldiers. Sunak sacked her first thing on Monday morning.
The Young Offenders Christmas Special review: Where’s Jock? Without him, Conor’s firearm foxer isn’t quite a cracker
Restaurant of the year, best value and Michelin predictions: Our reviewer’s top picks of 2024
When Claire Byrne confronts Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary on RTÉ, the atmosphere is seriously tetchy
Our restaurant reviewer’s top takeaway picks of 2024
Did she take it well?
Not exactly. Braverman wrote a scathing letter to Sunak afterwards accusing him of being “weak” and of “betraying” the British electorate by not doing everything in his power to tackle illegal immigration. She criticised his political leadership, told him he had no mandate from voters and implied that he couldn’t be trusted and would lead the Conservative Party to electoral annihilation.
You said Sunak took two huge decisions. What was the other one?
Remember David Cameron, the posh former UK prime minister who modernised the Conservatives, won two elections, and then blew it all by losing the Brexit referendum and entered the political wilderness seven years ago? Well, he’s back. Sunak stunned Westminster by appointing Cameron as foreign secretary to replace James Cleverly, who took over as home secretary from Braverman.
Sunak painted himself as an agent of change and implied that Cameron was part of “30 years of failed consensus”. Yet now he has hired him
So what? Don’t politicians make comebacks all the time?
Cameron is the first former UK prime minister to return to a frontline political position in more than 50 years. He isn’t even an MP any more. Sunak had to rush through a life peerage for Cameron in the House of Lords – members of the cabinet must sit in one of the two houses of parliament.
What makes the appointment all the more surprising is that Sunak has spent most of the last two months making speeches in which he implicitly criticised many of the decisions taken by Cameron’s governments. Sunak painted himself as an agent of change and implied that Cameron was part of “30 years of failed consensus”. Yet now he has hired him.
So why has he brought Cameron back?
Some people may have noticed that the Tories in recent years have been quite the drama queens. The party has dragged the British public through seven years of post-Brexit political upheaval. It has been riven by infighting, bloodletting, and the settling of internal scores. There have been heaves, rebellions and for the last four years, the party has been under the thumb of its noisy and intransigent right wing.
Sunak recognised that the British public is tired of the psychodrama and could punish his party at the polls. By sacking Braverman, a magnet for mither who turned off moderate Tory voters, and bringing back Cameron, a calm centrist popular in centre right heartlands, Sunak is aiming to create the impression that his government has tacked back towards the middle ground, and normal, grown-up politics.
