Government reshuffles have in the past thrown up stories of people being appointed by mistake and sacked by mistake. But this month’s shake-up produced a genuine novelty – a minister who tried to quit but was kept on, by mistake. Lord Hill wanted to step down after a 30-month stint as a junior education minister, but his repeated attempts to tell David Cameron were thwarted. He finally managed to see the Prime Minister at the very end of the reshuffle but as he started to explain his reasons for resigning, Mr Cameron’s mind appeared to wander (he was late for a photocall) and he briskly ended the conversation by telling the minister he was staying where he was and to keep up the good work. We have all heard of ministers deluded enough to think themselves unsackable; in Lord Hill’s case it seems to be no more than the literal truth.