Inside Politics: Musical chairs

New PM Sunak already under fire over rehiring of Suella Braverman as home secretary, writes Matt Mathers

(AP)

Hello there, I’m Matt Mathers and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

Rishi Sunak has reshuffled his cabinet, meaning the latest round of Conservative Party musical chairs is complete. But two-thirds of you say you do not consent to this game, approve of the new players and definitely didn’t choose the broken record.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

Rishi Sunak’s new cabinet meets for the first time. Later, he will make his debut at prime minister’s questions and hope to make more than the three appearances Liz Truss managed. His weekly joust with Keir Starmer may signal a return to what MPs hope will be “politics as normal” after the Boris Johnson and Truss eras.

Sunak will also continue to make his ministerial appointments.

The home affairs select committee will take evidence on one issue in Sunak’s bulging in-tray. David Neal, the chief inspector of borders and immigration, and Tom Pursglove, the immigration minister, are due to be quizzed about the Channel crossings in small boats.

Daily briefing

Ri-shuffle

Rishi Sunak has reshuffled his cabinet, bringing back familiar faces such as Dominic Raab (justice) and Michael Gove (levelling up). His decision to take in MPs from across the Conservative Party in a bid to unite the warring factions on his backbenches has gone down broadly well, apart from the rehiring of Suella Braverman at the Home Office.

Sunak may have calculated that it was worth bringing Braverman back into the tent to appease the right of his party, but her return – days after being sacked for an apparent security breach – raises questions about his claim yesterday that his government will “have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.”

That move ought to give Labour leader Keir Starmer some early ammunition as the pair face off later today at Sunak’s first session of PMQs. Sunak has already proved himself to be a slick communicator and his first speech outside No 10 Downing Street won plenty of plaudits for its message and tone during the cost of living crisis, although he was criticised by some for paving the way for a new era of austerity. The Labour leader will certainly have a tougher time against this PM than he did going head-to-head with Liz Truss and probably Boris Johnson too, who was rarely across the detail.

Both Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who kept his job in the reshuffle, have warned of tough times ahead as they seek to repair the damage inflicted upon the economy by Truss. Starmer is likely to question the new PM on his tax and spend plans. And there are reports this morning that the fiscal statement due to be delivered on 31 October could be delayed because the details have not yet been finalised. In addition to his first cabinet meeting this morning Sunak will hold talks with Hunt to discuss how they will plug the £40bn hole in the public finances.

(AP)

What the papers say

Sunak wakes up to a decent set of front pages this morning and gets positive coverage from some of the papers who backed Truss in the last leadership contest, including the Daily Mail, which described the ex-PM’s Budget as a “true Tory” fiscal plan.

Leave it to me, Your Majesty, says the paper’s splash, complete with photo of the PM and King Charles. How times change. Here’s how some of the rest of the papers covered Sunak’s coronation.

Today’s cartoon

See all of The Independent’s daily cartoons here.

(Dave Brown)

On the record

Sunak says he will try to fix the mistakes made by his predecessor.

“But some mistakes were made. Not borne of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless. I have been elected as leader of my party, and your prime minister, in part, to fix them.”

From the Twitterati

Sky News politics editor Beth Rigby on the recent speed of developments at Westminster.

“The handover of power. Days like these are meant to happen every 5 years after a GE. Instead we’ve had 2 of them in just 7 wks. You probably can barely believe it - neither can I. A PM out, another in. What really changes?”

Essential reading

• Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Sunak learns from Truss mistakes in building new cabinet
• Hamish McRae, The Independent: How long until Britain can get back to growth?
• Sarah O’Connor, Financial Times: Immigration policy will not cure Britain’s labour market ills
• Charlotte Ivers, New Statesman: Can Sunak escape the Tory death cult?

Inside Politics first appeared in our daily morning email. You can sign up via this link.