Read on Twitter
Inside No10: fears of new Covid strains, the desire to avoid another lockdown at all costs and a new team have replaced 2020’s boosterism with 2021’s “cautious pragmatic approach”@FinancialTimes latest on what is driving Boris Johnson’s new rhetoric https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
Aides say Boris Johnson does not want to repeat in-out lockdown cycle:
"This has to be the last lockdown, no doubt about it. The PM is clear on that. But with the new strains, there’s a real concern that we can’t open up as quickly as we would like." https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
"This has to be the last lockdown, no doubt about it. The PM is clear on that. But with the new strains, there’s a real concern that we can’t open up as quickly as we would like." https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
One Johnson ally on his newfound caution:
“What we can’t do is give people back some freedoms and then watch the virus take off and have to take them away again. It’s been an extraordinarily difficult period and that would be a real kick in the teeth.” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
“What we can’t do is give people back some freedoms and then watch the virus take off and have to take them away again. It’s been an extraordinarily difficult period and that would be a real kick in the teeth.” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
Those involved with Covid-19 planning predict “it’s going to be a rough few weeks” as the numbers go down:
“That will be the real challenge, can we hold the newfound message discipline?" https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
“That will be the real challenge, can we hold the newfound message discipline?" https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
One senior Tory on whether Johnson has changed his stance:
"Sitting at the heart of this, you have the mercurial personality of the PM. He hasn’t changed, but events and the people around him have instilled in him a greater degree of being careful." https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
"Sitting at the heart of this, you have the mercurial personality of the PM. He hasn’t changed, but events and the people around him have instilled in him a greater degree of being careful." https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
The mood in No10 is “calmer” according to senior civil servants:
"At the height of the old regime, everything was frantic and we were lurching from one thing to another. Now it feels as if we’re on a path to being slightly more strategic and considered.” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
"At the height of the old regime, everything was frantic and we were lurching from one thing to another. Now it feels as if we’re on a path to being slightly more strategic and considered.” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
Dan Rosenfield, new No10 chief of staff, has brought a "greater sense of organisation” to Johnson’s team. Colleagues say he’s a "stand-up desk, corporate machine type of guy” with no agenda
"It’s a good thing that he’s there to just do what the PM wants” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
"It’s a good thing that he’s there to just do what the PM wants” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
Official say Downing Street is less “capricious”:
"There is more policy grip and that appears to be down to the people around [Johnson]. We no longer have senior people who previously stirred the pot. It feels more grown up https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
"There is more policy grip and that appears to be down to the people around [Johnson]. We no longer have senior people who previously stirred the pot. It feels more grown up https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
The appointment of Stephen Lovegrove is seen as a sign that the civil service “machine” has restated its influence on Johnson’s team.
"It’s a really big signal that the machine is grabbing the political part of government by the balls” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
"It’s a really big signal that the machine is grabbing the political part of government by the balls” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
Allegra Stratton, Johnson’s new press secretary, is said to have had a significant influence on tempering his boosterism on Covid.
She has told colleagues their motto is "we need to be sensible and calm, not be carried away" https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
She has told colleagues their motto is "we need to be sensible and calm, not be carried away" https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
Not everyone thinks Johnson has the new mood right in managing expectations:
“We still need to find the sweet sailing spot: close to the wind, without turning into it. How do we keep the lid on everything while reminding people things will get better?” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
“We still need to find the sweet sailing spot: close to the wind, without turning into it. How do we keep the lid on everything while reminding people things will get better?” https://www.ft.com/content/9ca92244-b3c7-4845-b44e-1619d45c7177
As first reported by @Steven_Swinford, No10 is being beefed up with Simone Finn and Henry Newman moving over from the Cabinet Office.
Finn will be deputy chief of staff, Newman will report into her - along with Henry Cook and Meg Powell-Chandler
Finn will be deputy chief of staff, Newman will report into her - along with Henry Cook and Meg Powell-Chandler
