Off to wave Thatcherite banner on back-benches

THE question yesterday was not whether Liam Fox would resign or be sacked, but why it had taken so long for it to happen.

New revelations on the paper trail surrounding donations and financial support probably proved to be the final blow.

It also seems that Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell made it clear to members of the government that his report would be highly critical.

But – given the drip, drip of revelations, torrid headlines over the week and the fact that it was so difficult to explain why Dr Fox’s friend Adam Werritty had enjoyed so much access and accompanied him on so many foreign trips – in other circumstances the shove through the resignation trap door may have come much earlier.

The reality, though, is that because the government is a coalition it cannot be easily reshuffled. It has a Cabinet that is a fine balance of political interests, where any disturbance to the delicate equilibrium poses serious problems.

This is why Liberal Democrat energy secretary Chris Huhne has not yet been forced out, despite continued pressure over whether he asked his ex-wife to take driving penalty points for him. He is a potential standard bearer for the unhappy Lib Dem left.

Dr Fox was the equivalent for the Thatcherite wing of the Tories. He was the right-wing standard bearer who at times stood up to David Cameron and was their voice against what they saw as a Lib Dem, centrist Tory government.

But the council house boy from East Kilbride was hung out to dry by Downing Street, which made no serious effort this week to kill off the story and gave only qualified support from the Prime Minister, who nevertheless insisted Dr Fox was a “brilliant defence secretary”.

This has allowed Mr Cameron to at least give the appearance of trying to protect Dr Fox but being left with little choice in the end but to accept his resignation.

Privately last night, right-wingers were unhappy but admitted Dr Fox had been the cause of his own downfall. They were even more unhappy with the mini-reshuffle which has seen a middle-of-the-road Tory, Philip Hammond, sent to defence and a moderniser Justine Greening promoted to Mr Hammond’s old job as Transport Secretary.

It means that the one serious right-wing voice in the Cabinet is Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, while there is no pure Thatcherite in the ranks.

Dr Fox and Mr Cameron may have been left with little choice about his resignation but the political repercussions for the coalition could be much longer lasting – particularly if after a period of rehabilitation the former Defence Secretary rediscovers his voice as a critic of government policy on the back-benches.