Unfortunately, ever-increasing public spending and green policies inspire little confidence in the Prime Minister.
The author recounts how, despite the opposition of John Major and Conservative MEPs, he kept Boris Johnson on the candidates’ list.
It is seldom a good sign when Governments decide to tinker with the Whitehall architecture.
Throughout the world, there has been a disconnect between British aid and other elements of our overseas policy.
At home, our government’s motives will be questioned, and it will be accused of holding post-colonial attitudes borne of guilt or arrogance.
There will be some bruised personalities on the backbenches who will need careful managing over the next few months, and I hear that Spencer is already on the job.
We need to have a Foreign Affairs Committee that mixes idealism with clear thinking – and holds the Foreign Office to account.
The International Development Secretary won’t be drawn on the Prime Minister’s previous comments on his budget or his Department.
The scale of his domestic ambitions and the legacy of the Iraq War suggest that his ambitions will be limited – for the moment at least.
A separate department was right for the stable, hopeful 1990s. But the years have presented various challenges for which it is less well-suited.
Don’t expect Downing Street to bother too much about what MPs or the media think as it prepares to shake up government and Whitehall.
We should measure the success of our aid programmes by the good we achieve, not simply by the amount of money we spend.
It’s so much more than charity: it bolsters our diplomacy and nurtures trading partners and military allies around the world.
Overseas aid is not just compassionate, but directly tackles the root causes of problems such as extremism and migration which impact us at home.