Sajid javid’s resignation speech shows up boris johnson’s biggest problem | thearticle

Yesterday when Sajid Javid, the former Chancellor, stood up in the Commons, you could feel something was coming. Javid explained to the house that he had resigned from the Treasury because

he was unable to accept the decision by No.10 to sack and then replace all of his advisers. “Britain’s democracy and economy are strong because of its institutions and its people,” he said.

“Conservatives especially believe that no particular person, or even a government, has a monopoly on the best ideas.” “It is through these checks and balances of credible institutions,” he

continued, “the Treasury, the Bank of England, the Office of Budget Responsibility, and indeed, this House, that we arrive at sensible decisions that are in the national interest.” “When

reflecting on the dynamic between No.10 and No.11,” he said, “any model that works depends on the personalities involved, just as much as the processes. It depends on the mutual respect and

trust that allows for constructive, creative tension between teams.” Johnson was smiling uneasily throughout all this. He wasn’t enjoying it. He certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed what

followed: “It has always been the case that advisers advise, ministers decide and ministers decide on their advisers. I can’t see why the Treasury, with the vital role that it plays, should

be the exception to that.” A Chancellor, Javid continued, must be able to speak “truth to power.” “I believe that the arrangement proposed [to sack his advisers, and replace them with

advisers chosen by No.10] would significantly inhibit that and that it would not have been in the national interest.” Former Conservative Chancellors don’t openly accuse Conservative Prime

Ministers of acting against the national interest. And like all of the most effective lines of attack it struck with such force for being so self-evidently correct. Effective government

relies on well-maintained institutions. No.10 can do a lot of things, but it’s an incredibly small operation that can’t really get anything done without the co-operation of other, much

larger institutions. These institutions can’t simply be trampled — they must be brought along. The list of institutions that Javid mentioned is worth consideration: the Bank of England, the

Treasury, the Office for Budget Responsibility. It’s a list that would come naturally to the Chancellor. But then, this: “The Treasury must be allowed,” he said, “to play its role as a

finance ministry with the strength and credibility that it requires. You see — I’m a proud, low-tax Conservative. Already, our tax burden is the highest it’s been in 50 years. It is fair to

say that not everyone at the centre of government feels the pressure to balance the books. It was ever thus.” “At a time when we need to do much more to ‘level up’ across generations, it

would not be right to pass the bill for our day-to-day consumption to our children and grandchildren.” The fiscal rules are needed, he said, “to keep spending under control, to keep taxes

low to root out waste.” He also reminded the House — but by now he was really addressing his own party — of its manifesto commitment to reduce the national debt by the end of the Parliament.

Javid crystalised the gathering argument that the Conservative government now faces, and which I addressed in a column earlier this week. What’s coming now is a clash between the old-style,

sound money Conservatives, of which there are still many, and the new, populist-right tendency that has taken root in No.10, with Dominic Cummings at its centre. The former wants lower

taxes and to keep a tight lid on spending, while the latter wants big, eye-catching spending programmes for the hard-done-by areas of the north that recently voted Conservative, and doesn’t

care so much about raising taxes. The Budget, which will be delivered — thought perhaps not written — by Javid’s successor Rishi Sunak, now takes on enormous significance. Johnson and

Cummings are preparing to “level up” the parts of Britain that have fallen behind and Budget Day on March 11 will give a clear indication of how far and how fast they want to go. Rising

inflation and the spread of the coronavirus could make the government more cautious about new, large spending commitment. Or perhaps Cummings and Johnson will plough on regardless. Either

way, the Budget will reveal the government’s true character. The best moment of the speech was when Javid remarked: “I don’t intend to dwell on all the details and the personalities — the

_Cummings_ and goings, if you will.” Even Theresa May laughed at that one. And though Javid finished off with gushing comments about his faith in the PM, he succeeded in identifying a core

tension at the heart of Johnson’s No.10. For despite his dominance, Johnson’s Conservative party is a coalition, forged between the old right and the new. The Budget will reveal whether he

has the skill —and inclination — to hold that coalition together.