If reports of Lee Cain’s imminent promotion to Chief of Staff come true, he will become one of three Downing Street chiefs, alongside Dominic Cummings and Eddie Lister. While the move would represent a further consolidation of the Vote Leave gang’s influence over Boris Johnson, to the chagrin of ministers, it’s difficult to imagine it would do much for Cain’s influence. It smacks of him being promoted up and sideways, perhaps into the departure lounge.
The suspicion is that Cain’s surprise “promotion” offer from Boris is more about making way for Allegra Stratton, the former ITV journalist and Rishi Sunak aide who was recently appointed to be Number 10’s television spokesperson, the new face of the government. As Reaction reported then, Stratton was not Cain’s pick. She was brought into the No10 comms operation against Cain’s wishes.
A former colleague of Stratton told Reaction: “Allegra is ten times the operator Lee Cain is. Lee Cain is f***ed. He’s been forced to appoint his nemesis, which is amusing.”
The expectation now is that Stratton will replace Cain as Comms Director, leaving her to sort out the mess he’s made of the Downing Street operation. First task is to avoid getting into rows with amazingly popular Premier League football players. Second, prepare two separate congratulatory notes in advance of US presidential election results. Baby steps.
If this happens, Stratton will be more than just a television presence. She’ll become a powerbroker in the Prime Minister’s inner circle, heading up comms and trying to rebuild the government’s reputation. Watch out for Allegra.
