Reshuffles should be the moment of greatest political strength for a prime minister but yesterday’s shake-up of the government was yet another demonstration of Theresa May’s weakness. A day that should have been an opportunity for the Tory leader to assert her authority over her party at the start of a new year quickly turned into a humiliating illustration of incompetence at the top. An event that could have been used to clarify the direction of the government after a difficult few months served only to highlight the incoherence at No 10.

Theresa May’s caution turned the reshuffle into a missed opportunity TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL

The mood was set by the shambles over Chris Grayling, whose appointment as party chairman was announced on the Conservatives’ official Twitter feed, then rescinded seconds later as the tweet was deleted. A