A Farewell to Gavin Williamson

"On one occasion we had an MP who'd got a few financial problems, some financial help was given. It wasn't a great amount, but I do remember him asking me to give the MP in question the cheque and he waved it under my nose and says: "Make sure when you give him this cheque he knows that I now own him."" In a party of horrors, Gavin Williamson stood out as someone who revelled in the dark arts. Having watched too many episodes of the original House of Cards, he took to the role of chief whip with the enthusiasm of a live action role player. Tory watchers will remember his spreadsheet of MPs and their alleged sexual peccadilloes, that accidentally on purpose got leaked and has circulated in the ether ever since. You might also recall the dead tarantula he kept in his office to lend his operation a sinister aspect. And so news about his recent past behaviour, which included bullying senior civil servants and, as per the story above from ex deputy whip Anne Milton came as no surprise. He cosplayed as chief whip as he served as chief whip, and loved it. However, this self-styled master operator forgot that the enemies you make on the way up will still be your enemies on the way down, and all this week they've lobbed enough artillery shells to crater his career for the third time and forced him from office.

In Williamson's resignation letter, he's "stepping back from government" because the allegations, which he "refutes" (does politics abuse any other word as much?) are proving to be a distraction from what's Sunak's trying to achieve. For his pains as Minister Without Portfolio for a couple of weeks, Williamson can expect £18k in severance. Nice work if you can get it. But as these stories have been circulating among the lobby hacks for a long time, surely Williamson knew there were hostages to fortune out there. Why tempt fate by accepting a front bench position knowing his past would catch up with him? Vanity? The idea he'd muddle through, like Boris Johnson had done so many times?

It also turns out Rishi Sunak knew about these allegations, but appointed him all the same. Just like giving Suella Braverman's a job, Sunak's judgement was found somewhat wanting. Whereas for Braverman it was a grubby deal that underlined his cluelessness, for Williamson this was a reward for helping his leadership campaign. As significant sections of the press, including on the right, are going for the Tories because of how politically dysfunctional they've become Sunak should have had the wit to realise they would bite and continue worrying his government until a Williamson-sized chunk got torn off. His career is over for the third time, and there's more egg on the Prime Minister's face.

Unfortunately for Sunak, it doesn't end there. Having got Williamson's scalp, the attention switches back to Braverman. She and her boss intend on riding it out because, unfortunately, as the press have ramped up the anti-immigration coverage some polling has demonstrated support for the Home Secretary's remarks when she denounced the south coast "invasion" in the Commons last week. She's useful for the racist divide and conquer cards the Tories play when they're conquered. But by the same token, her flouting of national security rules and legal probity make her a huge liability where the security state is concerned. And so the press will keep the assault up, knowing that her career is ripe for the taking and that, unlike his predecessors, Sunak needs to heed the power of the papers.

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