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What will Boris Johnson’s government look like?

Analysis: Is the new prime minister going to be hands-on or a delegator, a divisive figure or a unifier, and how will his government compare to May’s administration?

John Rentoul
Tuesday 23 July 2019 15:42 BST
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Boris Johnson's most memorable moments

For all the attention that will be paid to the top jobs in Boris Johnson’s government this week, the most important appointment could be someone who may not even be a full cabinet member – although he or she will have the right to attend cabinet meetings.

“The absolute key to all this is the chief whip,” an experienced Conservative MP told me. “If he’s going to make a mess of it, that’s where he’s going to make a mess of it.” The current chief whip, Julian Smith, never really stood a chance. He took over from Gavin Williamson at the end of 2017, inheriting a government with no majority and a Brexit negotiation that was going to divide the Tory party down the middle.

It was reported at the weekend that Johnson had already decided who his chief whip would be, but there were differing reports as to the name of the lucky person. The Independent suggested it would be Iain Duncan Smith, former leader, advocate of a no-deal Brexit and chair of Johnson’s leadership campaign. He insisted to Andrew Marr on Sunday: “I honestly have bid for nothing, I ask for nothing and if I get absolutely nothing you’ll see a happy man sitting here.”

That is probably just as well: he would be an intensely divisive person to take such a sensitive job. As my wise Tory MP said, the chief whip has got to be “someone who can work with both sides”. He meant both sides of the Tory party, which is hard enough, but the chief whip also needs to work with Labour MPs, as any Brexit deal would need the support of a significant number of them as well.

Hence the speculation that the chief whip would be someone with a lower profile who is less identified with either side of the “deal versus no-deal” argument.

Johnson’s decision about his chief whip will be part of a bigger decision, which is whether he wants a hard-Brexit government or one designed to unite the party. So far he has leaned towards a purge of the soft Brexiteers, with what has been described as his loyalty oath – requiring cabinet members to sign up to the principle of a no-deal Brexit if necessary.

That was too much for Philip Hammond, David Gauke, Rory Stewart and Greg Clark, who will leave, but Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, signalled her willingness to sign on the metaphorical dotted line.

The other big question about the Johnson government is the extent to which the new prime minister will delegate. Johnson used his record of eight years as mayor of London as a central plank of his leadership campaign, claiming his two terms in charge of a world city proved he was a capable administrator.

Up to a point, this is true. But stories abound of chaos and confusion for at least the first two years, before he managed to appoint capable deputies who could run the thing for him. Interestingly, several of them are going to be part of his team in Downing Street: Sir Edward Lister is his chief of staff, while Kit Malthouse and James Cleverly will be ministers.

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Johnson does not have the luxury of time to get it right as prime minister. It seems that he knows this. His leadership campaign has been an untypical exercise in discipline, with his public appearances limited and generally well prepared. Apart from a bit of shouting and plate-breaking in the south London flat he shared with his girlfriend, the campaign has gone according to plan.

There is no doubt that his governing style will be rather different from Theresa May’s, although both he and she have a reputation for delaying decisions until the last moment. But in the end he will be judged not by how he conducts government business or who he appoints to the top jobs, but by whether or not he delivers Brexit.

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