Red or blue wall? Rishi’s next tricky balancing act

He steadied the ranks by bringing David Cameron back into cabinet – but at the coming election, Rishi Sunak may yet find it impossible to appeal to both the old and new Tory tribes, says Andrew Grice

Rishi Sunak with his new-look cabinet – now with added David Cameron as foreign secretary (PA)

When Rishi Sunak’s pitch to be the “change candidate” was shown to focus groups, a common response was… laughter.

It was never going to work after 13 years of Tory rule. No wonder he has dropped it after only six weeks.

His new strategy was unveiled this week in a dramatic cabinet reshuffle that saw the surprise return of David Cameron – and the sacking of Suella Braverman.