The clamour for a reshuffle is getting louder. Caroline Spelman is said to be a leading
candidate for ejection, following her awful performance over the forestry sell-off. Many also want Ken Clarke’s scalp. Party chairman Baroness Warsi has already been the target of gossip, while
dissatisfaction with Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin is palpable. Then there is the desire by Nick Clegg to bring back David Laws, if he is cleared of financial malfeasance.
However, most of the talk of a reshuffle is fuelled by self-serving backbench MPs who lost out of jobs in the coalition negotiations. Those from the 2005 intake feel the 2010 intake breathing down their necks, while older MPs hiss about the “cult of youth”. A reshuffle that moved older MPs on from junior ministerial jobs could, say younger MPs, end the growing dissatisfaction in the Tory ranks.
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