Cameron’s “passed over Majors” and the cull of the competent

In the Daily Mail on Monday, political correspondent James Chapman predicted that this could be the last reshuffle before the General Election:

“The Prime Minister has spent months planning what may be his only significant Cabinet shake-up before the next election, due in 2015. Mr Cameron has argued that Labour’s regular reshuffles destabilised the last government and meant confusion and drift in key policy areas. He has insisted he wants to keep ministers in post for as long as possible to see reforms through.”

This will send an icy chill down the backs of Tory MP’s from the 2005 and 2001 intakes as they rapidly appear to be becoming ‘passed over majors’.  After the next election they may well be in opposition,the political dead zone for office hungry Tories.  In the less likely outcome that the Coalition holds on they will face ferocious competition from the hungry and self important 2010 intake.  There may be the consolation of a few knighthoods tossed to them, but the future is looking bleak.

In addition there was a second phenomenon – the cull of the competent. Cameron seems to think it is only his opening batsmen from the Cabinet who matter – so he has been very careless in losing his competent middle-order batsmen. Ministers who know their brief and command respect in the Commons and in the wider community. Labour MPs are astonished at some of the casualties and this action may cost Cameron dear in the future. The most obvious is Charles Hendry who was reckoned to be really on top of the Energy brief (probably the only one in that department) ,Children’s Minister Tim Loughton, Bob Neill at Local Government, James Paice at Agriculture who really held the department together, Peter Luff at Defence and John Penrose at Tourism. There may well be others I have missed.

The Government will suffer both organisational and reputational damage, and a few gongs won’t solve it.

John Spellar is the Labour MP for Warley