Cabinet unshuffle

There’s an interesting example in The Times about PM/Cab relations that I’ll be using when covering this topic later in the academic year.

Has PM power risen constantly and inexorably? Is the PM free to appoint whoever he or she wants? Some may be inclined to think so. But the basic fact is that PM power waxes and wanes, largely depending on personality and in this case, circumstance.

There were strong rumours earlier in the year that Gordon Brown wanted to move Alistair Darling out of the Exchequer in a bid to bring fresh impetus to his government’s dwindling fortunes, but apparently the Chancellor said that if he was going to be reshuffled he would resign. This would have obviously been disatrous for the PM, as it would make his government appear not only incompetent, but only sharply divided. Why do divisions matter? Well, in the public eye if a party/government can’t agree on how to run themselves how can we be sure that they can agree on what’s best for the nation as a whole.

A good example to show that the PM clearly doesn’t always get his own way.

Details of the story are here.