Reshuffle – the favourite word of political hawks but not for shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, who is in the firing line as Keir Starmer mulls over his top team.
Whether or not she’ll become a victim of his manoeuvring remains to be seen but she is victim of unpleasant speculation on what she’s done wrong. “Not political enough” or “bad at the comms” were two prevailing messages in this week’s press alongside “intelligent’” and “good at her job”.
If the latter is true, then her main failure is in not promoting herself enough and her work. But when has this become the barometer of success, not least in a global pandemic?
The stories about her beg the question – just what do we want from our leaders? Competence is obvious, but do we like the showboating and those who engage in the small “p” politics? The Machiavellian types or the future Francis Underwoods, the protagonist in the political drama/bible, House of Cards.
The pandemic, much like Brexit, has exposed a nation of two halves. Many championed footballer Marcus Rashford in his campaign to improve access to free school meals and reduce food poverty. He seemed to come of out nowhere with his place in politics questioned but the “quiet revolutionary” had done a lot of work under the radar and appeared when the time was right.
Advertisement
On the other hand, the only thing that brings Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon and Nigel Farage together is that they are like Teflon. Nothing sticks them – drama in their personal lives, legal scandal, internal party strife or more. Whatever happens, we can’t get enough of them and their poll ratings outstrip their nearest competitors.
Does Keir Starmer want a piece of this pie and is that why he’s contemplating moving the quiet ones out? Only he will know but the choices he makes, alongside Boris Johnson, who is also touting for a reshuffle in the summer, will have an impact on the politicians of the future.
Covid-19 will be a milestone that we won’t forget, and the key players will be memorialised whether they do well or not. The drama serialisations are coming out, a willingness to give evidence at select committees and the books won’t be far behind and this is long before the actual Covid-19 inquiry starts. So the key players now matter more than ever and those who succeed will be scrutinised heavily for the traits they display, as much as the action they took.
Forensic or fearless won’t just be adjectives used by Westminster followers who care more about politicians than most but will be seen as a blueprint. A blueprint for guiding businesses, charities, not for profits and more out of a pandemic and the top team political leaders chose will be seen as an extension of their approach.
Politicians are often chided for thinking about their legacy, but they’d do well to consider it now. The pandemic has meant we have more access to politicians than ever before, and their behaviour is scrutinised more carefully that it usually is. But with the eyes of the future generations before them, they must decide who is going to lead with them as the UK reaches a critical stage of its recovery.
Advertisement
With livelihoods more dependent on the state than ever, we need strong leaders who inspire confidence, not people who’ve been put in positions to satiate one political grouping or another.
This year’s reshuffles will reflect the success of the country, and not just a political party. So all eyes will be on positions like Dodds’s, whose fate is as unknown as the country’s future.
Sonia Khan is a former special adviser to Sajid Javid