This is it: the very last Cabinet League Table of 2019 and, unless you’re feeling especially pedantic, the decade. The Conservative Party has been in office, in one form or another, since 2010, and it really is remarkable that it is heading into 2020 with in such apparently strong shape. A few points of note:
- Election afterglow. As you might expect in the aftermath of this month’s unexpected but decisive electoral triumph, the overall ratings have received a significant boost compared to last month.
- Johnson just short. Our editor wrote this morning about what the Prime Minister needs to do to match or exceed Margaret Thatcher. But on one metric at least he has yet to top Theresa May, who retains her League Table record by 0.1 points.
- Gove and Javid hold the podium… Johnson’s soaring to the gold-medal position has obviously shuffled them down but they remain, as they have been consistently, the two top-rated Cabinet ministers beyond the man himself.
- …as Cox closes in. The Attorney General is now within touching distance of a top-three finish, which is quite a contrast with reports in today’s papers that he might be facing the chop.
- Poor showing for the Territorial Offices. Is it coincidence that Julian Smith, Alister Jack, and newly-appointed Simon Hart – respectively the Northern Irish, Scottish, and Welsh Secretaries – are all at the bottom of the table?