Boris Johnson was intending  to use today’s reshuffle to add a touch of fresh paint to a tired looking Cabinet line up.

But the glossy relaunch risks being overshadowed by a row over who  paid for the Prime Minister’s holiday in Mustique.

In the register of MPs’ interests Johnson said the £15,000 winter break with his partner Carrie Symonds was paid for by Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross.

Ross has told the Mail he helped find the island property but did not pay for it.

Who hasn’t got in a tangle when trying to remember who funded a Caribbean getaway?

And is there any other profession which would allow the CEO to take a freebie holiday from an interested benefactor?

This will probably be a short-term row with potentially long-term consequences.

Surely some Mustique? Boris Johnson is struggling to recall who paid for his Caribbean holiday (
Image:
Peter Summers)



Despite the best efforts of the Mirror Johnson sailed through the election without facing scrutiny about how a wealthy old Etonian who once dismissed his £250,000 salary as a “chicken feed” could lead a people’s parliament.

The mystery of Mustique could come back to haunt him if people find their lives have not seen the much-promised levelling up, even if that levelling up does not extend to a free holiday in a Caribbean paradise. 

Forecasting the winners and losers in reshuffles is a mug’s game, especially this close to the event.

I know this from personal experience.

When working on the Evening Standard I ended up gracing the pages of Private Eye after wrongly predicting the career prospects of Robin Cook in five different editions.

Rather than risk further humiliation it is probably safer to focus on why Johnson is having a reshuffle than on the ministerial merry-go-round.

The Prime Minister may have a majority of 80 but he is vulnerable on two fronts.

Boris Johnson risks making enemies with his Cabinet reshuffle



Firstly,  his party has been in power for nearly a decade now and risks going the way of all long-serving governments if the public become weary of main cast and disappointed by the rickety scenery and tatty production values.

Johnson tried to counter this during the election by presenting his Government as a new administration that was not responsible for the failings of the Cameron and May years.

You cannot pull this trick off indefinitely but a reshuffle can help sustain the idea for that little bit longer.

The second challenge facing Johnson is he has to deliver on his promises.

He ran for office as someone who will get things done, whether it is resolving Brexit or fixing, albeit on a limited scale, our public services.

A sufficient number of voters were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but that will not last if they struggle to get a GP appointment, wrestle with the injustices of the Universal Credit or see violent crime continue to rise.

Building a bridge across the Irish Sea may not be enough to distract attention from the lack of delivery elsewhere and could even stoke resentment if the cost becomes ridiculous.

Some may start to question whether a PM who cannot recall who paid for their island holiday can truly understand how the other half lives.

Today's agenda:

9.30am - Digital, Culture, Media and Sport questions in the Commons.

9.30am - Labour leadership contenders are quizzed on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show.

10.10am - Questions to the Attorney General.

10.30am - Jacob Rees-Mogg gives weekly update on House of Commons business.

What I am reading:

Emily Ashton’s definitive profile of Keir Starmer