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This excellent brief is a useful hook to consider some crucial and mostly so far unasked questions about the next PM, like their governing style, choice of Cabinet, potential big policy shifts (not just Brexit), and legislative program.... 1/
Governing style - Theresa May favoured as we know a closed and secretive approach. David Cameron was much more open. The latter seems to work better, under this PM too much was kept by too few, and as a consequence Government never felt really joined up... 2/
The Brexit twist on style is that part of the reason for the PM's closed circle was lack of trust that Departments, Ministers, stakeholders could be trusted to be supportive. Which only made things worse. Creating a shared sense of purpose is going to be a big challenge 3/
Bringing us onto Cabinet. is it to be inclusive, in which case some Ministers will not be e.g. Brexit purists, or exclusive, leaving even more Brexit discontents on the back benches? A new PM doesn't stop Tory MPs being deeply divided on Brexit 4/
In terms of policy outside Brexit the big one to watch is immigration. Nothing was more associated with the current PM than her hard-line on the subject. Maintained, eased, or scrapped? Like most things has implications for Brexit... 5/
Legislation. Do you remember we used to have things called the Queens Speech? Last one 2017. Parliament is not exactly busy at the moment. A new program and lose uncompleted Brexit legislation like the Trade Bill, Agriculture Bill? Or stutter on... 6/
Then of course the majority problem, overlaid Brexit splitting both parties. For the Conservatives this cuts to the heart of the party if a significant percentage of members support a policy - no deal - opposed by all business groups. How to resolve this? 7/
Will the next PM consider themselves to be a unifier or advocate? Hunt pretty clearly in the first camp, the rest of the leading candidates probably don't know themselves, and want to be both. Difficult at any time, even more so now 8/
The next PM will inherit a party and a Government in a mess. It isn't stated enough, this is a crisis management job. Saying Brexit or election isn't going to solve the mess. Get it right and win a landslide, wrong and be out by Christmas, tories divided for a generation. 9/ end
This is a fair point to add to the inbox. Devolved tensions, not just independence, but the devolved governments have also felt largely ignores by the current Government
Add another one to the inbox, machinery of government. DexEU in particular has lacked a clear role
