Boris Johnson has stamped his authority on his cabinet

RESHUFFLES BRIEFLY turn parliamentary systems into autocracies. Prime ministers get to play tyrant for a day. Cabinet ministers are reduced to whimpering poodles. Junior ministers and ministerial bag-carriers throw themselves at the feet of the great man in the hope of preferment. The only answer to the prime-ministerial “jump” becomes “how high?”—which is why Boris Johnson chose to carry out his first big reshuffle while he is pushing through two of his most controversial bits of legislation: raising national insurance, a payroll tax, and cutting universal credit, a handout for the jobless and low-paid.

The prime minister has been relatively sparing with reshuffles, despite constant carping (including from this columnist) that he has surrounded himself with political pygmies. He marked taking office in July 2019 with a spectacular purge, getting rid of almost 20 senior ministers who were deemed unsound on Brexit, but has since largely reacted to events, notably Sajid Javid’s resignation as chancellor and Matt Hancock’s departure from health after breaking lockdown rules to carry on an extramarital affair. On September 15th he took the initiative. He sacked Gavin Williamson, the education secretary; Robert Buckland, the justice secretary; Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary; and Amanda Milling, the party chairman. He demoted the...