The rearrangements of the Conservative front bench is taking place for all of the wrong reasons. David Cameron is making changes to his team to ensure in the first instance that his party is happy and feel the internal power structures have been addressed. Having considered his team from the point of view of the Conservative Party MPs whose votes he will need to get any laws passed, the next test is will these new faces and new posts satisfy the newspapers who after his MPs will be the next most critical voices that he cannot afford to be on the wrong side of. It may well be that some of his wealthy donors will also have views about which faces fit and which do not. Finally when all else has been addressed he can turn to the actual roles and the needs of the nation he has been elected to lead. If this was the starting point he would be matching life experiences and skills to the tasks in hand. If he is not willing to consider these issues at the beginning of his term as leader of a majority Conservative Government, we can be sure he won’t make changes in a couple of years when he begins to transfer power to his successor.

At best we will have a team that is 3rd best for the tasks in hand. We may not even get that good an outcome! So on issues of the reform of Prisons, Schools and business we will continue to have lawyers and graduates of PPE and the directors of large plcs as the decision makers. There will be no teachers, prison or probation officers and a complete absence of people with experience of running small businesses.