"Do no harm" should probably be the top aim of a reshuffle.

In the end, it was relatively minor.

There were five new faces at the Cabinet table, some rebranded departments and a shift around of jobs at Justice, Work & Pensions, Northern Ireland, Education and the Cabinet Office.

The first problem with the reshuffle was it was over-hyped, presumably by some people who thought they were being helpful to Theresa May.

This was not helped by the Conservatives' official Twitter account wrongly heralding Chris Grayling as Sir Patrick McLoughlin's replacement as party chairman.


The second problem was that it did not assert the Prime Minister's post-Brexit negotiation authority.

In allowing Jeremy Hunt, Greg Clark, Justine Greening and Damian Hinds to hang around Downing Street for hours in total - with at least two of them pushing back against the PM's decision-making - it made for a rather public display of a lack of authority.

But above all, the principal consequence - along with the decision of Mrs May's allies to brief against Ms Greening and Mr Clark - is the PM now has a "Putney problem".

Image: One Tory MP says Justine Greening's exit is a 'damaging loss' for the PM

Ms Greening, the Putney MP and now former education secretary, is not going quietly and her friends are furious with her treatment.

One told me: "She should have absolutely expected to continue. She saw people who have been massively disloyal, others not competent, allowed to stay in Cabinet, and even given expanded briefs."

A Tory MP told me that Ms Greening was a "damaging loss" and Mrs May made a "dreadful error... caving into boys but not a woman" - a reference to Jeremy Hunt staying in post.

Ms Greening's constituency voted 75% in favour of remaining in the EU.

She has argued in Cabinet for a "pragmatic" Brexit and her friends say she achieved some progress with the teaching community, few of whom voted Tory, but who proved influential in driving the electoral decisions of important swing voters.

:: Cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out

Image: Ms Greening will now serve from the backbenches

Now, there is an extra backbencher whose inner scepticism about elements of Mrs May's Brexit strategy has so far been held in check by Governmental loyalty.

Number 10 pointed out that the PM was disappointed by the departure of Ms Greening, who was offered the position as Work and Pensions Secretary.

But the briefing against Ms Greening, and the feeling that Mrs May's former chief of staff Nick Timothy is still influencing events, has left a bad taste.

And there is a bigger canvas from a seat that saw a collapse from a five-figure majority to become a marginal last year.

The long-standing, modernising wing of the Conservative Party believes that the PM actively unlearned successful Cameron-era lessons that won the Conservatives a swathe of middle-class liberal England less than three years ago.

The slightly odd and unannounced silent photo op of Mrs May outside Downing Street with her new, diverse party vice-chairman only showed up the fact that the Cabinet appointments did not live up to that billing.

Image: Theresa May poses with Brandon Lewis and James Cleverly and their teams

The "Putney problem" is that the PM's 2017 election strategy of reuniting the Conservative and UKIP vote may not be reconcilable by winning swathes of liberal England previously won by David Cameron.

The PM is trying to reinvent a wheel that she broke last year. The upcoming local elections across Greater London will be extremely difficult for the Conservatives.

All this occurs before more parliamentary fireworks on the EU Withdrawal Bill, in the Commons and the Lords, and as the tougher part of Brexit negotiations hit home.

Mrs May needs the shuffle of more junior ministerial ranks to go more smoothly than this.