Esther McVey quotes Aristotle as she defends ‘common sense’ minister role

Esther McVey has defended her role as the "minister for common sense” - an unofficial title bestowed after her appointment to the Cabinet Office in Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle - in a speech quoting Aristotle on Monday, 13 May.

The Conservative MP for Tatton referenced the Greek philosopher in a speech at the right-wing Centre for Policy Studies think tank as she announced there would be no more spending on external equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) contracts without an explicit sign-off from a minister.

"Aristotle thought common sense helped us form coherent thoughts and make rational decisions. It’s as important [as] a sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell," Ms McVey said.