Britain wants change. Theresa May has made a great start

Theresa May has set out a new direction and philosophy for the government of the United Kingdom. Hers will not be a David Cameron continuity government. It is a wholesale reboot. A new start for a new era.

The EU referendum was the trigger but it is clear that many British voters voted for not just Brexit but also for a new economic and social settlement. Theresa May has grasped this more clearly than any of her contemporaries.

Her priorities, set out in the one major speech of the truncated Conservative Leadership campaign, and again in Downing Street yesterday before she entered No 10 for the first time as Prime Minister, were clear. Her focus is on those that have been left out, those who have not benefitted from the improvements in the economy.

The gender pay gap was specifically mentioned. It seems unlikely that the senior civil service will dare to put an all male short list to the Prime Minister for Permanent Secretaryships as they did recently with the Foreign Office and the Treasury. The conspicuous lack of women heading up Whitehall departments is something Jeremy Heywood will need to address swiftly. For business and other government bodies and public appointments the direction is clear.

May also emphasised the importance of the Union. But the union of the communities of the country is also of equal importance. She has set herself the mission of restoring social cohesion and a clearer sense of community. Her priorities of fairness and opportunity might be dismissed as slogans or convenient soundbites but those positive values are clearly at the heart of what she is in politics to deliver.

She clearly understands that the result of the EU Referendum was more than just a vote on whether the UK should or should not be a member of the European Union. It was a searing comment on the state of Britain in 2016.

The British need to restore trust and integrity in Britain’s institutions, political life, and public debate. She inherits a culture of government that has not fully recovered from the Blair years. A culture of government that was heavily criticised in the Chilcot Report and the Butler Report before it. Too many senior Conservatives who should have known better referred to Mr Blair as “the master” and sought to emulate his style of politics and government. This culture continues to hang like a dark cloud over No 10. The economic, political and constitutional chaos that he left in his wake is a stark reminder of what can happen when the country is governed badly. Theresa May will have to restore rigour to decision taking.

The wholesale clear-out of David Cameron’s political appointments in No 10 was done quietly but ruthlessly. Billed as normal in reality it was the first evidence of the resolute toughness of the new team – a further sign of the new start Mrs May and her team are making. The speed with which she appointed her Cabinet, and who she did and did not include, the clearest sign of the clarity, breadth and toughness of her approach.

Over the next few weeks new Ministers will get to grips with their new departments. Officials in No 10 and throughout Whitehall will need to come to terms with the approach the Home Office has become familiar with over the last six years – attention to detail, thinking positions through carefully, what is and is not practical, and a willingness not to shy away from the tough decision. It will be a shock to some. A relief to others.

Theresa May has set a new direction for the Conservative Party and for the Government. She has populated her top team with a blend of experience and freshness. She has ruthlessly returned to the backbenches those she thinks would be disruptive. It is a clear break with David Cameron and it is a clear break from the long shadow cast by the Blair years.