Mrs May needs to use the Fallon vacancy to bring in new talent
Why she should follow the example of Michael Howard
One of the things that is often commented on as people discuss who will be the next Tory leader is how underwhelming the obvious front runners appear.
If you look at the betting there is no clear choice and this is an opportunity for Mrs May to plan for the future of her party by promoting people who could grow and become the leaders of tomorrow.
I was always impressed by Michael Howard in the 2003-2005 period after he took over from the hapless Iain Duncan Smith who of course was ousted in a vote of confidence.
He was the one who brought on George Osborne and of course David Cameron the latter being the only person to lead the party to an overall majority in a quarter of a century.
One of the criticisms of Cameron is that he failed to rejuvenate his team as often as he should which in many ways is a reason for the lack of apparent talent at the moment
A key factor for Mrs May for which she will take very detailed advice from the Chief Whip will be to avoid politicians who have apparent “baggage” that could blow up at any time in the future.
Assuming that the Fallon successor is a current minister then that appointment will also create vacancies and she might use the opportunity to do make some other more strategic appointments.
We don’t know yet why Michael Fallon felt he had to resign but he will be much missed. He was a very accomplished media performer and capable attack dog and we all remember the role he played in the 2015 General Election when he accused Ed Miliband of having stabbed his brother in the back. Fallon was able to change the media narrative.