At just over 700 replies, the low response rate reflects not only the summer season but diminished expectations. This is a bleak return for the Government as Parliament resumes.
Today’s changes are expected to be small-scale with a bigger shuffle taking place before the King’s Speech in early November.
My explanation? The Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election result – and the Prime Minister’s tilt from green politics to red – or rather blue – meat.
A final set of questions relates to whether, if we are going to spend £28 billion to improve economic growth, spending it on the green economy is the best way of doing so.
It’s been a quieter political month with lots of publicity for the Government’s small boats plan. Ben Wallace continues his reign at the top of the ratings.
Sunak’s rating is still lamentable and Hunt remains in negative ratings, but Sturgeon’s fall and Zelensky’s visit made last month’s political background less unfavourable.
So does Raab. Our top three are unchanged – and Alister Jack’s rating is up slightly, taking him to sixth place.
The average score is the lowest recently, though not by all that much – a natural extension of the panel’s verdict yesterday on the Government’s economic policy.
Is he fated to be a fire-fighter, a leader grappling with crisis? Or can he find the political space to deliver a more personal message – perhaps to do with education?
Wallace is top again. Badenoch and Cleverly score well. Sunak wins a respectable rating. And Williamson is in negative territory.
Every leader fails on one or more of my tests. However, her special achievement is to have flunked all of them in the space of a few weeks.
The empty Chamber, where ministers cannot be tested by spontaneous interventions, is incapable of holding the Government to account.
The Government can’t deliver levelling up without more supply-side change, localism and public service reform.
The Justice Secretary and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury lead our cast of ministers, MPs, and experts for Day One.
The shock departure of Sajid Javid obscures the fact that there was much less churn than one might expect, especially at the lower levels.