As the civil war for the heart and soul of the Tory party goes on, the only winner is Sir Keir Starmer

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At this point Starmer is practically prime minister in waiting (EPA)

With Jeremy Hunt probably the only safe minister, Rishi Sunak’s forthcoming reshuffle is going to be more like playing chess games in a civil war than putting the country first.

Having already lost a good defence secretary in Ben Wallace, who has already announced he’s leaving cabinet and parliament, Sunak’s mega-headache is clear. Does Sunak want a defence secretary to keep the blue rinse brigade happy or does he want a proven servant like Penny Mordaunt who, after years in government, with military expertise, a naval constituency and even an apprentice under David Willetts, is a class act?

Does Sunak want the most ideological and right-wing home secretary in generations to continue to shame our international reputation or does he go for a semi-safe pair of hands like Michael Gove? And does Sunak want to promote the worst deputy party chair ever, dear old dog-whistler-in-chief Lee Anderson, or should he bring in some fresh blood like Alicia Kearns? Either way, as the civil war for the heart and soul of the Tories goes on, the only winner for me is prime minister in waiting, Sir Keir Starmer.