Yes, ministers: how unprecedented ‘churn’ disrupts Britain’s government

It’s no wonder ‘the blob’ takes charge when departments change hands every few months, says Sean O’Grady

Another new job for Grant Shapps this week (PA)

This week’s micro-reshuffle, in which Grant Shapps was appointed defence secretary and Claire Coutinho became the first of the 2019 intake to make it into the cabinet, has raised fresh questions over stability in government and the amount of ministerial churn.

Shapps is the seventh defence secretary appointed since the Tories came to power in 2010, giving an average ministerial lifespan in that department of just under two years. Ben Wallace, who had the advantage of military service behind him, stayed in post for four years, but many of his predecessors didn’t have the time to master their complex remit.

Coutinho’s replacement as children’s minister, David Johnston, is the seventh in four years, and only one of his predecessors stayed more than a year. Such turnover has become a feature of this government in recent years, but it was also evident towards the end of the Labour government that preceded it.