All change | 6 September 2012

All government reshuffles tend to be presented as Greek tragedies; the coverage focuses on the demeanour of sacked and promoted ministers who troop to No. 10. But this week’s reshuffle will come to be remembered less for the personnel changes, and more for the defeat of various bad ideas which characterised David Cameron’s early years as Conservative party leader. The Prime Minister’s original remodelling of the Conservative image was built around environmentalism: his was going to be the ‘greenest government ever’. In taking a sleigh ride in Svalbard he staged one of the most expensive (and, ironically, energy-consuming) political photo shoots in history. He ruled out new runways in the south-east and whipped Conservative MPs to vote for the Climate Change Act, which commits Britain unilaterally to cutting carbon emissions by a ludicrous 80 per cent by 2050. Government has taught him that such targets slow growth and compound poverty.

The appointment as environment secretary of Owen Paterson, who has opposed wind farms and spoken against green energy subsidies, is a further sign of a more pragmatic environmental policy. Paul Deighton, who ran the Olympic Organising Committee, is being ennobled and put in charge of licensing new power plants. This can only mean that the government is becoming more serious about nuclear energy. Removing Andrew Lansley as health secretary will pave the way for NHS cuts, previously unthinkable. The Prime Minister has finally reached conclusions that have long been obvious to his party.

The appointment of Michael Fallon and Matthew Hancock to the Department for Business is the best way, bar removing Vince Cable, to indicate that the social democrat employment policies will henceforth be in abeyance. The job of the business secretary should be to establish conditions which lead to the creation of new jobs, not to push for endless legislation to protect those who have jobs.