Number 10 was quick to pour cold water on Nadhim Zahawi’s suggestion in the Mail on Sunday that child-related welfare benefits should be restricted to two children per family (for new births only), with a source saying that ‘this is not government policy and is not supported by the Prime Minister’. But aside from whether this is a good policy or not, Zahawi’s intervention is interesting as it marks a significant departure from the way the Number 10 policy board, of which he is a member, works.
Zahawi has only recently joined, but his colleagues on the board have been instructed to be entirely discreet about their work. Jo Johnson, who leads the board and is officially head of the Downing Street policy unit, has taken great efforts to impress upon the members the importance of not floating ideas that they personally fancy in the media, and has scolded some members for sailing too close to the wind on previous occasions.
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