Theresa May’s government reshuffle at the start of this week has attracted widespread media criticism . It is my view that the Prime Minister has suffered somewhat from an unfair media narrative ; notably at the Conservative Party Conference , where journalists forgot that even a Prime Minister can suffer from a cough ! It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing that members of the public generally have the same level of interest in politics as people who are likely to read this article .
A typical member of the public is unlikely to know , or even care , who cabinet ministers are , but is very likely to form an impression of politics, and the competing political parties , from television , or perhaps from social media . The appointment of James Cleverly , who is a good media performer , and is widely perceived as having a good understanding of how social media works , is to be welcomed . Theresa May has also done well with the appointment of Vice Chairmen by appointing a group of diverse new MPs into these positions . It Is vital that they are given a high profile in the media .
The appointment of Ben Bradley MP as the Vice Chairman responsible for Youth is particularly welcome . Those who know me well know that I am an outspoken critic of the Party’s attitude towards its young activists in recent years . It is my view that CCHQ has victimised the party’s young activists for actions for which CCHQ , not Conservative Future members , were to blame . It is important that a new youth organisation is established without delay . However , this must also be accompanied by an important change of culture towards young Conservative activists . Although campaigning is important , it Is vital that young activists are perceived as something far more than leaflet deliverers .
Young Conservative members must be treated as individuals , and consideration given to their strengths , weaknesses , likes and dislikes . They must be given a range of opportunities including social media, and public speaking . The party needs to rediscover its past interest in social action . We need a strong recruitment campaign in universities, and the party needs to have a vision for its young members . This will require significant funding . Big name speakers must be encouraged to go onto campuses and the anti- Conservative culture at many universities must be strongly challenged . Dealing with the reshuffle itself ,the largest criticism is that expectations were raised of a far wider reshuffle than actually took place .
The mis-announcement of Chris Grayling’s ‘appointment’ as Conservative Party Chairman is an embarrassment and there needs to be an investigation into how this happened . However , whilst there were very few cabinet changes , the overall government changes were good . It is good that a number of female and ethnic minority MPs were brought into the middle ranks of the government although the exclusion of Kwasi Kwarteng MP is puzzling. It is vital that the Conservative Party looks like the country which it seeks to represent . However , promotions to the cabinet are limited by the fact that there were relatively few women and ethnic minority MPs in the middle ranks of government before the reshuffle. An MP who has never held any ministerial office would hardly be promoted directly to the cabinet . The current reshuffle has thus prepared the ground for a future reshuffle to bring a significant number of women and ethnic minority MPs into the cabinet . Looking further into the future , there is a large number of very able young female activists in the Conservative Party . Many of them will inevitably end up deciding against political careers , but it is likely that we can look forward to more female Conservative MPs and more women in the Government and Cabinet . All this can be achieved without quotas , all women shortlists or any other form of positive discrimination .
The Conservative Party will then look far less male stale and pale . I do not agree with the media narrative that the reshuffle has demonstrated Theresa May’s lack of authority ; for example her failure to move Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark . Anyone who has been Health Secretary for as long as Jeremy Hunt has simply deserves admiration; the NHS will always give rise to difficult situations and require difficult decisions , even though the Labour Party seem to pretend otherwise . Theresa May has simply listened to the views of her colleagues about their future roles ; that is the sign of a good boss ! Contrast this with Jeremy Corbyn who has endured 98.
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