Want to know what sort of chaotic government we have? The career of Grant Shapps gives you a guide. Shapps was appointed Transport Secretary on July 24, 2019, as Boris Johnson formed his first cabinet after replacing Theresa May as prime minister. Compared with what was to follow, his time in the role was relatively long-lasting, taking him all the way to Johnson’s resignation on September 6, 2022.
After backing Rishi Sunak’s leadership campaign last summer, Shapps was initially overlooked for a cabinet job by new prime minister Liz Truss.
However, as her short-lived time in office reached its denouement, Shapps was called upon last October to become Home Secretary following the resignation of Suella Braverman for breaking security rules. Incredibly, he only held the job for six days after Truss resigned following her disastrous 45 days at No.10.
Shapps bid farewell to the Home Office to take over at Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Sunak’s first cabinet. But less than four months later, in February this year, he had to change his business cards yet again as the prime minister carried out a government shake-up.
With climate change moving up the political agenda, Sunak put his close ally in charge of the newly-created department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
With Ben Wallace announcing that he planned to stand down from the government at the next reshuffle, Sunak again turned to his faithful friend to take over at the Ministry of Defence. Needless to say Shapps has no defence experience.
That’s 5 positions held in a year. 5 roles to understand, manage and to set a strategy for. It’s impossible to achieve anything in such a short time. Such a rapid rotation of disparate roles would never happen in any sane business. But. it’s the chaotic way our democracy works at the moment.
