The latest Cabinet misbehaviour is a symptom, not a cause

Collective responsibility is dead. Long live cabinet irresponsibility. This seems to be the message from Theresa May’s government this week. After Gavin Williamson kicked off the week with a supposed threat to bring down the Prime Minister unless she gave him £10bn ASAP, Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond have kept busy with a proxy battle over business Brexit warnings. The bad behaviour appears to be contagious. In a speech last night to the London School of Economics, Liz Truss – the Chief Secretary to the Treasury – took aim at Michael Gove’s eco-warrior status and the Defence Secretary’s ‘macho’ calls for cash. Even the mild-mannered Greg Clark has been going off script, rebuking his colleagues for dismissing Airbus’s criticism of the government’s strategy.

So, what is going on? It’s clear that Theresa May’s authority is approaching non-existent. Next week the Cabinet is due to meet for a crunch Chequers away day to try and finally unite around a Brexit negotiating position.