PM rewards loyalists in mini-shuffle

Rishi Sunak has prepared for the new political term with a mini-shuffle, promoting his closest political ally Claire Coutinho to energy secretary and Grant Shapps to defence secretary. What do the limited changes say about the PM’s grip on his party? The FT’s Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher is joined by columnist Stephen Bush and political correspondent Anna Gross to analyse the shake-up. Plus, what, if anything, did James Cleverly’s visit to China achieve? And Lucy is also joined by the FT’s public policy editor Peter Foster to examine how the UK government is coping with post-Brexit rule changes.Follow Lucy on Twitter: @LOS_FisherRead a transcript of this episode on FT.comWant more?  ‘Safe pair of hands’ Grant Shapps appointed UK defence secretaryUK foreign secretary hits back at Tory critics of China policy UK government announces fifth delay to post-Brexit border controls on foodClips from: BBCSign up for 90 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/inside-politics Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Audrey Tinline. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.