Anthony Seldon - Cameron at 10 - From Election to Brexit

The decision to have a small-scale Number 10, attributable to Letwin, causes some consternation. Letwin looks back fondly to his time in the Policy Unit in the 1980s when Downing Street was regarded (not always correctly) as operating very effectively under Thatcher. Two factors were in their minds. ‘Because tensions between the prime minister and Chancellor had gone on for decades and were endemic, we wanted the whole of Number 10, Number 11, the Treasury and Cabinet Office facing in one direction. We knew the money would never be controlled properly if we were not absolutely sharing the same overall strategic direction,’ recalls Letwin.30 Avoiding Number 10 breaking up into a series of sub-units, all pulling in different directions, was another concern. A small PM’s office was thus considered by some to be much more biddable. Others understand that a strong Number 10 is necessary for the delivery of policy. In the months leading up to the election, Hilton and Rohan Silva spoke to some of the key New Labour figures, including Blair (twice), his chief of staff Jonathan Powell, head of policy Matthew Taylor, and speechwriter Phil Collins. They all said that Number 10 should remain big, advice that was ignored. Various Labour-devised units to enhance policy implementation, like the Delivery Unit, are promptly closed down in Number 10. Cameron will be a trusting, ‘hands off’ PM: why does he require a large office at the centre? But he soon realises he has been hasty to throw the baby out with the bathwater. He is critically short of capacity at the centre. The Policy Unit is thus expanded again from 2011, partly as a result of the patient chivvying of Jeremy Heywood, who repeatedly points out that Number 10 is not fit-for-purpose. But the inner circle around Cameron does not scale up: it remains small and tight. There are real gains from this, not least cohesion. But its social exclusivity is a source of irritation and anger which is to rebound on Cameron all the way down to the general election in 2015. Do they have the experience, the breadth and the stomach to master the maelstrom of political, social, military, security, economic and diplomatic challenges that are about to be hurled at them?

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