The shelf life of anything Sunak does only usually tends to last around 48 hours anyway
One of the persistent problems with Rishi Sunak's premiership is that for any time he does something that might be perceived as 'quite good', it’s often that something usually beyond his control happens that is 'quite bad' and ruins it all.
His reshuffle is an example of this persistent sense within the Conservatives [circa January 2023] that Sunak’s political judgement is naive and unsound; his perception somewhat hazy bearing in mind he has tried to ‘reset’ his government at least half a dozen times since.
Sacking Suella Braverman on Monday was symbolic, yes, and it was the best thing that Sunak could have done, but with it came a high-risk strategy of appeasement.
On one hand, the Tory Right - extremely angry, and practically frothing at the mouth following Braverman’s removal.
On the other, the not-so-Right-moderate-centre-One Nation caucus of Conservatives - extremely happy following her removal.
Sunak chose, at least if the media’s interpretation of events is anything to go by, a pivot towards ‘the centre ground’ of the Conservatives. This page suggested several articles ago that this - “logically, you’d think” - would be the path Sunak would take moving forward bearing in mind the number of by-election defeats the Conservatives have suffered in recent memory. Particularly those in so-called ‘Blue Wall’ constituencies.
However -
There is a rather sizeable problem right off the bat, and it’s one about ‘credibility’.