With Boris Johnson in hospital with coronavirus, what kind of leader could Dominic Raab be?

If he is wise in the role, Raab will be collegiate, acting more as a cabinet chair than some sort of generalissimo, writes Sean O'Grady

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab is the designated acting leader of the country if Boris Johnson is incapacitated (PA)

It is an odd business when the most insightful remark about the prime minister’s health comes to us via a tweet from Sarah Vine, the well-known newspaper columnist and wife of one Michael Gove.

“Boris has worked non-stop throughout his illness – and now we see the result,” she warned.

We also know, via the political correspondents, that Boris Johnson had a “non-emergency admission” to hospital before being moved to intensive care on Monday night. Not enough is known about Covid-19, even by doctors, to speculate upon it, so what we need to work out what to do next – and who should decide it.

At the moment, the prime minister’s designated deputy is the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and he will be chairing meetings about the crisis. He gets a bit of a bad press, but Raab will be perfectly able to step up into the leadership role without burden.

His foreign policy responsibilities in this crisis are relatively light compared to those of his cabinet colleagues, such as Matt Hancock, Rishi Sunak, and Michael Gove himself. Raab is free concentrate on the more strategic aspects, such as pushing on with preparations – and a list of options – for the “exit strategy”.

Meantime, he and his his colleagues will need to decide on whether to toughen the lockdown by banning exercise outside the home altogether, as other European nations have already done, or try instead the implementation of a different set of rules on using parks and open spaces. Working out whether folk should sit on park benches should be possible for our cabinet, without troubling the prime minister.

If he is wise in the role, Raab will be collegiate, acting more as a cabinet chair than some sort of generalissimo.

It sounds odd to suggest it, but like most organisations – including, dare I say it, newspapers – governments tend to run themselves. In the short run, nothing will change with the prime minister out of action and hospitalised: the government will continue to govern; ministries will continue to do their jobs; the paramount demands of the crisis will be unaltered.

We know that we need more ventilators, more tests, more protective equipment and, indeed, more money. Those quests continue. The NHS, the supermarkets, councils, manufacturers, pharmacists, the Royal Mail and everyone else will just get on with things.