The latest Cabinet league table is shown above. Here’s the usual set of observations:
- A point of order. The survey for this month’s Cabinet league table was conducted before the release of David Cameron’s draft EU deal and what followed on, such as Theresa May’s equivocal support for it. Next month’s results could be very different.
- A boost for Grayling. That said, some Cabinet attendees had made their Out-ist sympathies known before the deal was revealed – primarily, Chris Grayling. His rating has improved by 10 points since last month, and he’s risen 11 places in the process.
- Osborne plummets back down. The Chancellor had been recovering slowly after the tax credit row dragged him down the table towards the end of last year: from a rating of 48.8 in November, he climbed to one of 52.9 last month. But now he’s gone back down again, losing 16 points and 11 places. If you don’t know why, Google it.
- IDS overtakes Gove. Iain Duncan Smith retakes the top spot from Michael Gove, who has shed a full 11 points since last month. Are our respondents pre-empting where ministers will camp themselves during the referendum campaign?
- Patel poised. There could be more pre-emption going on in the case of Priti Patel, who has recently been tipped to fight for Brexit. She’s been a strong performer in our league table since her debut last year, but this is her highest score and position yet. She’s now on the edge of the top five.
> Almost 800 party members responded to the survey.