Doctor’s orders

Second acts in British politics are vanishingly rare these days and Liam Fox, restored to the cabinet by Theresa May, is determined to make the most of his. We meet at his central London flat at half-past four on Sunday afternoon and even then the International Trade Secretary is beavering away: preparing for his meetings at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva the following day and finishing off his conference speech. He offers us a drink — red wine? pink champagne? — but pours a cup of tea for himself.

Fox, as ever, is full of fizz. He clearly loves being back at the centre of things, and immediately starts contrasting Theresa May’s premiership with that of David Cameron. ‘We think similarly,’ he says. He enthuses about her ‘meritocratic’ agenda and how she is handling the job: ‘Her whole approach to government is much more methodical.’ Fox is a former GP and says she ‘fits in with what I like to think of as the “doctor test”. First of all, let’s see what the problem is. Secondly, a proper analysis. Thirdly, let’s look at the options. And fourthly, let’s work through them to see what’s the best.’

Another difference is that May includes the cabinet and its many committees in her decision-making. ‘The average reading for any of these big committees is now a full four or five hours the night before,’ he says. He admits that ‘the meetings are longer, everything’s longer’, and his ministerial red box is ‘considerably heavier’ than it was under Cameron. But this, he explains, is because arguments get played out. ‘It’s not a question of everyone having a say, it’s everyone being in the debate.’