Bad news for those hoping that the new prime minister will provide a fresh start. That includes many Conservatives who accept change at the top was needed, but had hoped for a cleaner break with the past and not to see familiar old faces back around the cabinet table. Sadly, the next cabinet will be as uninspiring as Johnson’s lacklustre bunch.
Two of the oldest and best-known faces, after all, are Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss themselves, and one or other will be the face of Global Britain – if you can stand the thought. President Biden, Chancellor Sholz, President Macron, Taoiseach Martin, President Zelensky and so many others who were so bemused by Boris Johnson will have to get used to another Tory at the top.
One thing we can be reasonably sure about is that Truss, after what she’s said about Sunak’s stewardship of the economy, probably won’t be invited to serve in his cabinet, and nor he in hers. It’s difficult to see what Sunak might do next if not in No 10; the backbenches or the Lords are unlikely to hold much allure for him. It’s possible he would leave politics altogether, as George Osborne did, and set out to make some more money. It would get a potentially harsh critic out of the way for Truss. By contrast, if she lost the contest, Truss would probably hang around waiting for something to turn up, even if that eventually turns out to be Leader of the Opposition.
