Support 100 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
11 February 2019

Of course Chris Grayling won’t be sacked. He was hired for loyalty, not competence

The Transport Secretary owes his job to his credentials as a May loyalist and an ardent Brexiteer.

By Eleni Courea

Chris Grayling is in the news again. This weekend his £13.8m contract with Seaborne Freight, the “start-up” ferry company without any ships, collapsed after the Irish company that was backing the deal pulled out. Labour has once again called for him to be sacked, with an urgent question set for this afternoon.

You might wonder why Grayling, who since 2016 has presided over the Southern Rail fiasco, the Virgin Trains East Coast bailout, the chaotic train timetable change, the botched traffic jam in Dover, the Gatwick drone farce and now the “no ships” ferry contract, is still in his job.

The reason is that being in the Cabinet has more to do with loyalty than mastering your brief. May appointed Grayling to manage her leadership campaign after David Cameron quit, and rewarded him with the Transport Secretary job. Since then he’s duly gone out to bat for her Chequers proposals and her Brexit deal. When Boris Johnson, David Davis and then Dominic Raab resigned, the Prime Minister could point to Grayling and Liam Fox as prominent Leave supporters who still commanded her confidence.

He’s hardly the first cabinet minister who appears to be doing spectacularly badly as far as anyone on the outside is concerned, but whose position in the government is rock-solid. As Grayling himself might say: “Don’t blame me, blame the system.”

Select and enter your email address Quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics from the New Statesman's politics team. A weekly newsletter helping you fit together the pieces of the global economic slowdown. The New Statesman’s global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. The New Statesman’s weekly environment email on the politics, business and culture of the climate and nature crises - in your inbox every Thursday. Our weekly culture newsletter – from books and art to pop culture and memes – sent every Friday. Your guide to the best writing across politics, ideas, books and culture - both in the New Statesman and from elsewhere - sent each Saturday. A newsletter showcasing the finest writing from the ideas section, covering political ideas, philosophy, criticism and intellectual history - sent every Wednesday. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates.
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Content from our partners
A better future starts at home
How to create an inclusive workplace and embrace neurodiversity
Universal Credit falls short of covering the bare essentials. That needs to change