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  • So today's reshuffle suddenly got a lot more dramatic.

  • After Sajid Javid unexpectedly quit as chancellor after Boris Johnson ordered him to fire his closest aides, Mr Javid said that that was a condition which no self respecting minister would accept.

  • And off he went.

  • He'll be replaced by Rishi soon, AC just four weeks before the budget is due to happen.

  • Whilst Downing Street says a new joint team of special advisers being established to advice to advise both the prime minister and the chancellor.

  • Our political editor, Gary Given, is in Downing Street now, Gary, make no mistake.

  • This is a power grab by Number 10 on Dhe.

  • They want to write the next budget and the one after that and the one after that, sources saying in number 10 tonight that this is nothing to see here.

  • All they want to do is resurrect a sort of relationship that David Cameron George Osborne had when they were neighbors here.

  • This is very different because they had grown up together in opposition.

  • Their teams had moved backwards and forwards and trusted each other.

  • This is of a very different order, and it matters because for decades the Treasury has Bean, the institution in Whitehall that says No when you have a prime minister in there whose instinct is to spend Maur to get re elected and say the guests has got to be that the only reason they're doing this is because they want to spend Maur than number 11 on the Treasury would normally like.

  • And that is what he's going through.

  • Minds in the Treasury tonight.

  • Where there Israel anxiety, some old hands air telling them.

  • Don't worry the Treasury will re emerge from this.

  • No prime minister could afford to lose two chances in these sorts of circumstances.

  • Say the new chancellor is super powerful and unsexy ble.

  • But how much does the new chancellor really want to assert himself on?

  • How much do they really want to spend in there?

  • There's giant questions.

  • They're lying around in front of us tonight, at the end of the general election, new government with a big majority, we thought some new certainties were around.

  • Tonight, the nuns have bean knocked down and a whole new tray of unknowns have been thrown in front of us.

  • The ministers who walk up Downing Street on reshuffle Day and meant to be.

  • The ones were keeping their jobs job.

  • It couldn't accept the changed job terms on offer.

  • Prime minister spent an hour trying to persuade his chance to stay put, but Santa Javid said no and four weeks short of his planned budget resigned and went home instead.

  • With so many coming supposed to out, Lovely to see you a world away from Tuesday it was all smiles for the HSE to launch in Birmingham.

  • There's been tension for months between the teams that work for these two.

  • Today, the prime minister told Sanjay Javid he must sack his close aides or special advisers and work with AIDS appointed by number 10 instead.

  • The plan is the brainchild of the prime minister's own chief aide.

  • Dominic Cummings would already infuriated Sanjay Javid by sacking an advisor of his last August, having marched out of number 10 under police escort.

  • It's been a huge honor to a service chancellor of the Exchequer on whilst I was very pleased that the prime minister wanted to reappoint me.

  • I was unable to accept the conditions that he had attached, so I felt I was left with no option other than to resign did you regard yourself as chancellor in name only.

  • And if so, was that because of the influence off dominant Cummings, the prime minister's chief advisor, the conditions that were attached was a requirement that I replaced all my political advisors.

  • And these are people that have worked incredibly hard on behalf of not just the government for the whole country.

  • Done a fantastic job.

  • I was unable to accept those conditions.

  • I don't believe any self respecting minister would accept such conditions.

  • And so therefore, I thought, the best thing to do wants to go with those conditions imposed by Mr Cummings.

  • Those were their conditions requested.

  • Why the prime minister arriving at the treasury, the new chancellor who did accept those conditions?

  • Rishi Soon ack He was such a job.

  • It's deputy in charge of spending is the darling of Boris Johnson's closest circle.

  • A public school educated former banker and hedge fund managers delighted to be appointed not to get on with it has the department he now heads had its authority slashed.

  • Well, it fight back.

  • How many others in this building the smiling tonight This morning it looked like reshuffle casualties would be further down the table.

  • Like for Northern Ireland Secretary June Smith managed to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland last months, only to get the boot today in Dublin, Ireland's prime minister, Lever Adkins signaled he was unimpressed with that move, calling Julien Smith one of Britain's finest politicians of our time.

  • It's up to the prime minister and that is the responsibility.

  • He has to choose the captain when he wants, and he's great serving in it.

  • But if you know it is always the promise of the days, call his thought.

  • Crime.

  • Julien Smith is believed to have wavered last autumn when number 10 wanted all ministers ready to back a no deal.

  • Brexit Andrea Leadsom move for Theresa May for the leadership in 2016 1 of four women to lose their place around the Cabinet.

  • Table number 10 suggests it might tryto correct that tally in the future reshuffle.

  • In his resignation letter Such a jab it appeared to warm the prime minister Office chief adviser, saying it's important as leaders to have trusted teams that reflect the character and integrity that you would wish to be associated with.

  • And he warned the prime minister, I would urge you to ensure the Treasury as an institution retains as much credibility as possible.

  • It's great for Number 10 in the short term to get its way.

  • And there's, you know, there's a sugar high from that.

  • But actually over time, that kind of balance and those kind of constructive questioning and challenges is a good thing.

  • A good government.

  • I'm going to give you an absolutely categorical assurance that I will keep Sajid.

  • Javid is my chancellor.

  • How about that?

  • A new election pledge only 87 days ago?

  • Well, other promises on spending restraint maybe go the same way with the Treasury in number 11 lose its authority and identity to the mighty neighbor next door.

  • I'm not joined here by Craig Oliver, who served as David Cameron's communications chief in Number 10 on Dhe.

  • Need To Boating was a special adviser to David Livingston, and brand Loose would come to you both.

  • Listen to what David Gore could have to say in a minute.

  • Hopefully forget the line.

  • Back up.

  • Craig, let me start with you.

  • Such a job did resigning out of principle.

  • Was he fully into a trap there?

  • Well, I think he certainly was set up in the sense that I think they knew that it was highly unlikely that anybody would accept the conditions that they were offering on that he was likely to walk.

  • So when it first came out, everybody was in total shock and thinking, Oh, my goodness, this is probably throwing a huge problem into the reshuffle, but actually very, very quickly re she soon act was put straight in, and that looked to me like they've been a plan.

  • But it is astonishing, isn't it?

  • I mean, the subject ever has had an extraordinary career came from humble immigrant backgrounds, became chancellor of the exchequer.

  • For him to have that conversation with Boris Johnson this morning to be given these impossible demands and then decide to resign.

  • Perhaps ending his political career forever is a dramatic moment, isn't it's an extraordinary moment in a dramatic moment, but I think you've got to see in the context or an administration that is showing very, very clearly today that they mean business.

  • They are an administration that wants to take power very centrally into number 10.

  • We're in an age now where modern communications mean that the next story of the time it takes somebody do a tweet government departments could be doing God knows what God knows what time on.

  • What they're thinking is, I think, is if they have fingertip control, then they can only be the people who are responsible.

  • I'm not sure.

  • So basically, you're telling me it's a good idea about other that he's gone.

  • I think that most recent governments have thought that they increasingly need to centralize, and that is what they've been trying to do and what they said to send you jab.

  • It is.

  • Either you accept that centralization and our people or you can walk and he walked.

  • People always forget how much healthy resources Number 10 can have some time so the Treasury will have thousands of officials.

  • Focusing purely on economic policy on that is going to be a key consideration for this government as it seeks to win the 2024 election.

  • Ah, lot of the levers around leveling up come from Treasury on.

  • There's always been this disconnect between Treasury and number 10 in terms of that power base on that policy.

  • Based on bringing those two things together, we'll make number 10 more effective and there's always different ways of resolving this tension.

  • There's a kind of David Cameron George Osborne model which Craig will remember well, where the two works very much in lockstep with the exception.

  • That may be the exception, because this relationship, I think, would be slightly more Number 10 a bit more in charge on not on the Treasury kind of brought in much more in line with what number 10 would like to see.

  • I think it's quite sensible because the data Cameron, George Osborne there was also Nigel Lawson, Margaret Thatcher when they fell out with each other.

  • Arguably, that was the end of her to Tony Blair famously thing.

  • This is a very difficult relationship on if this government, as Craig says, means business and really wants to deliver, particularly leveling up the North in the Midlands, it really is much more control over the engines of growth.

  • But what about Abraham Lincoln's famous team of rivals?

  • That's the way he described his Cabinet.

  • He was the boss, picked a C.

  • They were never seriously, what about people who believe in what they do?

  • They've got their brief.

  • They got the you know, the cleverest people that they trust around them.

  • Shouldn't that be what Cabinet is all about?

  • This is a campaign in government, and when you're in a campaign, what you need is people that can deliver on.

  • This is a very self confident reshuffle.

  • I would say it's people who have been shown they can deliver people who have shown their loyal people who show their active in their departments.

  • I've gotten the promotions, and that's what ultimately, what number 10 once in this election in this reshuffle does Dominic Cummings on this Boris Johnson.

  • I want a revolution here.

  • They aren't driven and they want to be a government that makes a mark.

  • I remember David Cameron saying to me that there is a fault line at the very heart of government and any student Politics notices that the fault line is between number 10 in number 11 his way of dealing with have a blood brother that he completely trusted and worked in lockstep with and made sure that'll their special advisers knew to work together.

  • Boris doesn't have that.

  • His way of dealing with it is to say I'm effectively taking over, Sergeant Roberts said very pointedly.

  • No, minister, you know who has a degree of self respect would deal with these kind of conditions.

  • Is he basically saying that everyone else who stayed in the Cabinet is spineless?

  • Well, they haven't been quite clear yet.

  • What's happening in with it'll?

  • The special advisers?

  • One of the rumors I heard today is that Dominic is trying to actually have a central bank of of special advisers that have been farmed out to ministers.

  • What currently tends to happen is that the minister gets the highly the person what he sees that as a problem.

  • He sees that as setting the government up for failure and people briefing against it and causing problems.

  • So there is a lot of sense in trying to take control.

  • A lot of people will also say that there's an element of control free, creative.

  • I've always been this tension between the two things, which is as a special advisor you want to be loyal to your secretary of state.

  • But you also know that you serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister and has always been this balancing act between showing that loyalty and improving your department while also being loyal to number 10 on.

  • They saw a different way of tackling that particular problem.

  • So you must be talking to Some of your colleagues and friends are still working at number 10 all around them.

  • And how afraid are they of Dominic Cummings?

  • I don't think it's a question of fear.

  • It's It's a different relationship.

  • It's very, very clear.

  • Who's in charge on they very much have Thio.

  • No, I think it's pure Machiavelli.

  • It's better to be feared than to be loved.

  • And I think he knows what he's doing by making sure that they know that they serve at his pleasure.

  • Is the more powerful than the prime minister?

  • No, because being appearing, it's like a game of chess.

  • The king is the last piece to fall, and he is the king in this.

  • So everybody goes under the bus before the king.

  • So no, he is not on board, still has the power, but he is a very powerful figure.

  • But did boys don't want to get rid of Sergey job?

  • Absolutely.

  • I think this is clearly an indication that dominant comment is trusted by the prime minister.

  • But he does still slow over the pleasure of the prime minister.

  • And that's what we're seeing today.

  • A number 10 and a confident Boris Johnson solidifying what he wants to do for the next five years.

  • And I think that it has been.

  • There's been numerous briefings that Dominic didn't think very much of its Najid.

  • Um and that's come to pass today.

  • Just briefly swell.

  • A brakeman attorney general.

  • Relatively inexperienced.

  • She wasn't a qc of Bridget Basta.

  • I mean, is this an attack on the judiciary?

  • I think that that is, that people think one of the lawyers always say that whoever gets made Minister of Justice, confident lawyers What?

  • Everybody always says that about the situation.

  • I find that a bit of a stretch.

  • So basically, you're okay.

  • Both of you are capable of this magazine.

  • David Lynton.

  • I mean, I worked for him and we went into the Ministry of Justice, and he wasn't a former lawyer.

  • I think some of these decisions are political, and that's why these rolls are political, basically appointed.

  • And so what you're seeing is a government again wanting someone who feels like more of a team player who's going to communicate being part of the cabinet table.

  • That sensible if I was a Cabinet minister, it would bother me, but I can totally see why somebody in number 10 in the light of the way the media operates in the digital world and all the things they're going on, who wants to make big changes and doesn't want to feel they're constantly fighting within would do this.

  • If you were still in the government, how would you deal with God Doubly Cummings in 10 seconds.

  • How would I deal with them?

  • Well, I suspected my boxing.

  • Yes, Craig, any devoting Thanks very much.

  • Well, I'm now able to talk to the former conservative Cabinet minister, David, who served in the Treasury for seven years.

  • David Cork.

  • Can you just tell us, Is there any drawback to what the's special advisors or former special advisors seem to be thrilling over the idea that you're going to combine special advisers in these two departments and therefore that the total agreement all the time?

  • Well, in theory, if you can have number 10 at the Treasury working very closely together, that's what must be a good thing.

  • And I was in the treasury at the time when David Cameron and George Osborne worked very closely on their advisors, worked very closely together, and that was to the benefit off the government.

  • But I think the difference here on Craig touched on this is that the this is essentially number 10 taking over the Treasury.

  • And the difficulty there is that you need a strong organization in government that is able to ask the bowler some questions about can we afford this?

  • Is this good value for money?

  • Is this sustainable over the long term to protect the interests of the taxpayer, to protect the interests of consumers if you like, and not just to be some focused as number 10 often is?

  • Well, now I don't I don't think that that is fair because you can work constructively.

  • And indeed, the Treasury can be constructive and positive.

  • But you do also have to deal with the fact that there are limits to the money that you've got available, that you do have to ensure that there is value for money tests, and that's the role of the treasury.

  • And it is right that the Treasury is a strong part of government.

  • Yeah, but what you can hear and after all, this is a very unusual prime minister, and he's got a very unusual special advisor on.

  • You can kind of hear them saying, I don't care if we can't afford it whether to do it There's no Treasury to say Hang on a minute.

  • Absolutely no, we can't afford it.

  • Well, that's exactly the point that that is the risk here.

  • The danger here is that at all times, your most prime ministers have moments of impatience where they just want to get get something done to coin a phrase.

  • Andi, you.

  • Sometimes you need voices of caution to be able to say, Well, it's a little bit more complicated than that.

  • Or if we want to do this, this is the best way in which we do it and that is where the Treasury comes in and it doesn't have to be a purely negative thing, but it can be about what is the best way of achieving a particular objective on dhe.

  • Well, you do have to bear in mind that there are limited resources.

  • You have to deploy those resources sensibly, and a strong treasury can enable the government to deliver successful and effective policies.

  • But he could also prevent let me let me raise another point with you because the budget is about four weeks away.

  • You got an entirely new lot of special advisers.

  • You got a brand new Chancellor of the Exchequer.

  • What sort of message?

  • The budget gonna be?

  • Well, very interesting question.

  • And you've got to remember that although it's four weeks away.

  • Yeah, there were certain things that have to be got into the office for budget responsibility.

  • Yeah, they essentially need to have a ll the measures a week.

  • Also in advance of that.

  • So it's not actually four weeks in truthful.

  • The decision's gonna have to be made within two or three weeks.

  • But from your experience, wouldn't you say the budget is already well, Dylan?

  • Exactly.

  • I mean, it has already been presumably effectively large elements of it will be Noel.

  • The decisions will be made, but the choices that could be made will have bean narrowed, so the options will become clearer on dhe.

  • One would hope that most of the work into in the to the next budget will have bean completed.

  • But yes, it sze they're gonna be burning the midnight oil for the for the next few weeks.

  • One very brief question.

  • Then what about this Dominic Cummings?

  • Is it healthy?

  • I don't think it is.

  • You do not be surprised for me, Tonto here, that given given my personal history.

  • But I do think that there is a lot of power being concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and the prime minister's chief advisor, Andi.

  • Just the pure complexity of government.

  • There are so many decisions that have to be made.

  • So much has to be taken into account.

  • It is very hold for one or two people to do that.

  • That's why you need strong department's, not just the Treasury.

  • But other departments as well, really understand the issues that could bring that knowledge and expertise to making judgments.

  • Because if it comes down to the whims, if you like of just one or two people, you end up making very foolish errors.

So today's reshuffle suddenly got a lot more dramatic.

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