Boris Johnson has announced that Sajid Javid will remain chancellor if the Conservatives win the election, ending speculation that the prime minister had plans to axe the former Deutsche Bank executive.

Mr Javid’s insistence that the Tories fight the election with some semblance of fiscal discipline, including the publication of new borrowing rules, put him at odds with those in Mr Johnson’s team who wanted even more public spending.

Mr Johnson said on Monday at the annual conference of the CBI business group in London: “I’m going to give you an absolutely categorical assurance I will keep Sajid Javid as my chancellor. I think he’s a great guy and I think he is doing a fantastic job.”

The statement was welcomed by Mr Javid’s supporters, who recalled the damage done to the Tory election campaign in 2017 when then-prime minister Theresa May refused to offer a similar job guarantee to her chancellor, Philip Hammond.

However Mr Johnson declined to offer similar guarantees to other members of the cabinet, and there is widespread speculation that the prime minister could make significant changes to his team if he wins the December 12 poll.

PM on Sajid Javid: 'I think he’s a great guy and I think he is doing a fantastic job' © Peter Summers/Getty Images

“Every person put in the cabinet was there to look tough towards the EU. Boris will want to refresh it to reflect his own politics,” said one Conservative official.

Through conversations with numerous officials in Mr Johnson’s team — and by scanning the Tory “A-list” of media performers in the election campaign — it is clear that some ministers are on the rise while the stock of others is falling fast.

Mr Johnson’s allies say that Priti Patel, home secretary, and Dominic Raab, foreign secretary, are well regarded by the prime minister and have played a prominent role in the campaign. But others are also seen as upwardly mobile.

Ministers on the up

Rishi Sunak, Treasury chief secretary

The 39-year-old former Goldman Sachs analyst and hedge fund manager is regarded by cabinet colleagues as the apple of Mr Johnson’s eye and is widely tipped to succeed Mr Javid as chancellor.

“In cabinet, Boris always turns to Rishi — he often makes the most decisive, reasonable contributions,” said one cabinet member. The Winchester and Oxford-educated Mr Sunak has had a high profile in the campaign. Voted Leave in 2016.

Robert Jenrick, housing secretary

The youngest member of the cabinet, the 37-year-old lawyer is seen as a capable communicator and unflappable media performer, frequently dispatched by Number 10 to douse political fires.

Educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and Cambridge, Mr Jenrick was a Remainer in the 2016 referendum. He was elected to parliament in the 2014 Newark by-election and his rise to the cabinet has been swift.

Oliver Dowden, Cabinet Office minister

Former prime minister David Cameron’s deputy chief of staff and a one-time Remainer, the 41-year-old backroom policy fixer — almost unknown to the public — has become an unlikely favourite of the new prime minister.

Educated at Parmiter’s, a comprehensive school in Hertfordshire, and Cambridge, Mr Dowden cut his teeth in the Conservative research department and has been valued for his policy acumen ever since.

Ministers going down

Jacob Rees-Mogg during his controversial LBC interview © LBC

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Leader of the House

His ill-fated LBC interview early in the campaign, when he ventured his opinions on the “common sense” approach to evacuating Grenfell tower, added to the impression that Mr Rees-Mogg was turning into an electoral liability.

Senior Tories said that Mr Rees-Mogg, an invaluable ally to Mr Johnson while he was negotiating his Brexit deal, had been “benched” for the rest of the campaign and confined to his Somerset constituency.

Julian Smith, Northern Ireland secretary

The discomfort of Mr Smith, Theresa May’s chief whip, in Mr Johnson’s cabinet has been evident as he has attempted to reconcile the new prime minister’s Brexit deal with the interests of Northern Ireland.

Mr Smith was furious over Mr Johnson’s apparent willingness to contemplate a no-deal exit — with its implications for the peace process. Downing Street has had him on “resignation watch” for months.

Theresa Villiers, environment secretary

Green issues have become a big feature of this election, but so far Ms Villiers has been notable for her low profile. The prominent Leaver provided vital Brexit ballast to Mr Johnson’s first cabinet but the two are not close.

Ms Villiers’ lack of visibility in the election campaign is partly down to the fact she is defending a wafer-thin majority in Chipping Barnet, north London. Mr Johnson’s allies say she faces the axe from the cabinet but one quipped: “The voters may do the job for us.”

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