Downing Street’s new game show, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me In Here, played out faultlessly on Monday. The star attraction was kept safely under wraps, with nothing given away in the run-up to the announcement.
Even as the car pulled into Downing Street, no one was any the wiser. Fools like me, even when presented with the evidence of his walking up to the famous door in full public view on reshuffle day, still thought it might be a coincidence.
David Cameron’s return as foreign secretary has dominated the headlines that are always generated by a government reshuffle. It has dazzled and irritated his soon-to-be-fellow peers in equal measure.
On the one hand, we are delighted to have a former PM join the House of Lords – the last was Lady Thatcher, who died 10 years ago. On the other, we are annoyed by the endless WhatsApps from friends asking why we haven’t been asked to join the cabinet as well.
As a friend, Cameroon and a former Cameron minister, I am obviously biased. But I think on balance he will be an asset to the government. My Tory tribe – moderate, centrist, reasonable – have been texting their relief. A Tory party that may still be in danger of going off the deep end does at least have a fighting chance to pull back from the brink and be ready to address voters’ concerns in a rational way.
Cameron isn’t there just to be an effective foreign secretary. I hope he will also have a significant influence on the Tory party and domestic politics.
The job of PM is a lonely one at the best of times, more so if you have only been an MP for seven years and lack a fully formed political touch. Having Cameron available for wise counsel and calm words will be invaluable to Rishi Sunak. Only a former PM will understand what he is going through.
Cameron’s availability for fundraising events in Tory constituencies and appearances in the House of Commons tearoom will also be vital. The most curmudgeonly Tory MP is not immune to a bit of stardust.
Of course, quite a lot of this may well just be wishful thinking on my part. There remain significant problems.
For example, Sunak still managed to fudge the question of who he is and what he actually stands for. The appointment of Cameron was a massive reverse ferret from the conference speech just a month before, which disavowed Cameronism, and it should have been full-throated.
Instead he appointed a minister for common sense at the same time, to try to appease the never-to-be appeased revolutionary right, signalling a continuation of the bizarre culture wars and leaving everyone still confused. Esther McVey deserves a place in cabinet – but why appoint her with this ridiculous moniker?
Cameron’s appointment may just be a narrowcast to a select group of voters. There is no evidence that it will help Sunak reach out to the red wall of former Labour voters. Cameron’s appointment will wind up Brexiters, and there are quite a few remainers who still resent him.
Finally, Cameron’s return was made possible only by the expulsion of Suella Braverman, which now seems likely to set off a full-blown civil war, fuelled by the supreme court ruling on Rwanda.
This is something Sunak cannot duck. He may navigate a way through the immigration mess – and there is no one better than James Cleverly as home secretary to help him do that – but the right now want Sunak’s head.
In heading them off, the government seems to want to make the House of Lords a scapegoat. That will put Cameron in an uncomfortable position. It’s unlikely to mean an early election – the government’s strategy is clearly to have a fight on this issue for the next 12 months before an autumn election.
Having made this surprise appointment, Sunak needs to follow through on the choice he made in appointing Cameron. He must face down his rebels and show he will push through his own agenda. Otherwise he risks seeing the next Downing Street drama – Succession.
Ed Vaizey was culture minister from 2010 to 2016 and now sits in the House of Lords
