Claire Coutinho is a revealing choice as Energy Secretary

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak has completed his very mini reshuffle with the appointment of Claire Coutinho as Energy Secretary, the role left vacant by Grant Shapps’s move to the Ministry of Defence. Coutinho leaves her role as a minister in the Department for Education and becomes the first of the 2019 intake to make it to the cabinet.

Her speedy rise will come as little surprise to her parliamentary colleagues. She is a key Sunak ally, having worked for him as a special adviser when he was Chief Secretary to the Treasury. On entering parliament, Coutinho served as Sunak’s PPS. The Brexiteer – and former banker – backed him in both leadership contests and is someone the Prime Minister trusts deeply.

That said, it’s still a big promotion – and likely to cause some disappointment verging on annoyance among those longer-serving ministers still waiting for a cabinet role. They will be hoping that the promise of a wider reshuffle after party conference in October comes good – and that it takes place sooner rather than later.

Sunak is choosing to promote loyalists rather than those from different wings of the party

So, what does Coutinho’s appointment reveal? As with Shapps’s appointment, it shows that Sunak is choosing to promote loyalists rather than those from different wings of the party. But the fact he has put someone he trusts so much in the role also shows how important he thinks the brief is. It comes after a summer recess dominated by debates over green policies following the Tory party’s narrow victory in Uxbridge off the back of campaigning against Ulez (Ultra-Low Emission Zone). This has led several Tory MPs to argue there is an electoral advantage to scaling down various climate commitments regarding net zero. In turn, Tory MPs on the other side of the debate have warned Sunak not to backslide on such commitments – while former environment minister Zac Goldsmith has threatened to vote Labour.

Coutinho represents a southern seat – East Surrey – and is a former member of the Conservative Environment Group. This means she is not a politician who can be described as anti-net zero. However, she is Treasury minded and will be aware of the trade offs when it comes to the costs of the current targets. She is also opposed to the expansion of the Ulez in London, suggesting it is a ‘tax on those who can least afford it’. She now faces the tricky task of leading a government brief that has the potential to divide her party.

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.

Katy Balls

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