Are the Tories suffering from summer madness?
Cabinet descends into open warfare as ministers publicly attack each other

Tempers have been flaring at Westminster this week as temperatures across Britain soar.
The political environment is becoming “ever more stroppy, ever more surreal”, with a series of rows erupting among leading government figures, says BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
So what exactly are Tory MPs fighting over and are they, as Kuenssberg claims, “in danger of tipping into serious summer madness”?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cabinet warfare has “broken out into the open”, The Independent declared today, after Treasury Minister Liz Truss attacked colleagues for demanding more funding for their departments.
“We have to recognise that it’s not macho just to demand more money. It’s much tougher to demand better value and challenge the blob of vested interests within your department,” she said.
The outburst followed reports that Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and Home Secretary Sajid Javid have been pushing for extra cash. Williamson is even said to have boasted that he could bring down Prime Minister Theresa May, claiming: “I made her - and I can break her.”
Speaking at the London School of Economics, Truss also laid into Environment Secretary Michael Gove over his planned crackdown on wood burning stoves.
Meanwhile, Business Secretary Greg Clark publicly rebuked his colleagues for trying to silence business leaders over Brexit fears.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had said that warnings by Airbus that it might have to move its manufacturing abroad in the case of a no-deal Brexit were “completely inappropriate”.
And Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson - who has also come under fire for failing to turn up to a crucial vote on Heathrow’s expansion this week - was reportedly overheard saying to the Belgian ambassador to the EU: “F*** business.”
Speaking in the House of Commons, Clark said major employers such as Airbus were “entitled to be listened to with respect”.
One minister told the BBC’s Kuenssberg that the Cabinet was now comparable to a bad marriage, saying: “We’ve stayed together for the sake of the kids, given birth to Brexit which is now ready to leave home and we’re fighting now over who gets what.”
George Freeman, May’s former policy chief, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that the party would “deserve to lose” the next election if they carried on feuding, and accused senior politicians of turning Brexit into “an alley street-cat fight between rival gangs”.
The infighting could come to a head at May’s Chequers country retreat next week, when the PM is holding a Cabinet sleepover to thrash out the final details of the Brexit white paper.
“It’s being called the body bag summit,” one MP told Sky News. “They’ve either got to back her or quit. A couple of cabinet ministers could be coming out in black bags.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Quirky hot cross buns to try this Easter
The Week Recommends Creative, flavourful twists on the classic Easter bake, from tiramisu and stem ginger to a cheesy sharing-size treat
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Left on read: Labour's WhatsApp dilemma
Talking Point Andrew Gwynne has been sacked as health minister over messages posted in a Labour WhatsApp group
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
New Year's Honours: why the controversy?
Today's Big Question London Mayor Sadiq Khan and England men's football manager Gareth Southgate have both received a knighthood despite debatable records
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is there a Christmas curse on Downing Street?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer could follow a long line of prime ministers forced to swap festive cheer for the dreaded Christmas crisis
By The Week UK Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published