Theresa May is like the drinker who resolved to cleanse themselves with a dry January, only to fall off the wagon in the first week of the year. The Prime Minister had vowed to detoxify her party with a Cabinet reshuffle this week. And, admittedly, she did try to send the right modernising messages by appointing younger and ethnic minority MPs like Kemi Badenoch and Rehman Chishti as vice-chairmen, and James Cleverly as deputy chairman.
But some are muttering that making Maria Caulfield vice chair for women made the rest of it look like window-dressing.
Ms Caulfield’s appointment has enraged equality campaigners, who are poring over her voting record and public interventions on abortion rights. Sophie Walker, Women’s Equality Party leader, has gone as far as to say that Caulfield can never advocate effectively for women.
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