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The vast majority of the country has not heard of Lee Cain and will not care much about his exit from Number 10.
But resignation of chief aide to the prime minister matters beyond the narrow gossip ring of Westminster because it raises the question of whether it announces the changing of the guard at number 10 and a new Johnson was now Brexi It’s almost finished.
Cain is part of the Vote Leave team that has propelled Boris Johnson here and dominated his first 18 months in office.
Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings have shaped Boris Johnson and his leadership more closely than anyone else
From helping Johnson win the 2016 referendum to the 2019 general election, Cain and his close ally Dominic cummings They have shaped Mr. Johnson and his prime ministerial position more closely than anyone else and have had a tight grip on the operation of Number 10.
But during that time, relations between Downing Street and many ministers, as well as many Conservative MPs, concerned about the leaks, U-turns and the ruthless way the duo has run the prime minister’s operation.
As the common saying of tired ministers goes: “Running a government is very different from running a campaign.”
This week, those tensions finally flared.
When the suggestion that Lee Cain was going to be promoted to chief of staff leaked to the Times on Tuesday night, there was a fierce reaction from some MPs and ministers.
There were also reports of resistance from the prime minister’s fiancee. Carrie Symondswhile his new press secretary, Allegra Stratton, also expressed concern.
The prime minister personally appointed Allegra Stratton as his press secretary.
An ally of Mr. Cain tells me that the prime minister offered him the job but did not agree to the terms on which his longtime aide wanted to do it: access to Johnson limited to his three top advisers: Mr. Cain , Mr. Cummings and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case. And then Mr. Cain quit.
“Boris is loyal to those who have been loyal to him,” a high-ranking politician told me last night. “And I can imagine Boris positively accepting Lee’s pitch.
“But if he’d felt like Lee was trying to control him and who he could talk to face-to-face, Carrie would have stepped in.”
The fact that Cain, backed by Cummings, fought and lost in this power struggle suggests that Operation Vote Leave’s influence is waning.
Could the turn of the year see a different style of leadership as Number 10 tries to build consensus rather than pick fights with MPs, Whitehall, the media and Brussels?
Because the old guard is slowly changing.
The Prime Minister personally named Allegra Stratton, a former television journalist and strategic advisor to Rishi Sunak, as his press secretary.
There are unavoidable questions about how long Dominic Cummings will stay
And Cain’s departure as communications director, expected to be replaced by former press spokesman James Slack, will change the tune.
“The prime minister wanted to change the mood,” said a figure last night. “You can see the problems.”
Now there are unavoidable doubts about how long the controversial figure Dominic Cummings will remain.
An ally of Mr. Johnson told me last night: “We can live without Dom.”
There are also questions about whether other key advisers could leave as this power struggle unfolds. A loyal advisor to Cain told me last night: “I think this is a big mistake by the prime minister.”
But for others there will be “much rejoicing.”
“The number 10 has been toxic and dysfunctional for a while,” says a senior politician.
This is resignation that speaks to a much broader power struggle that is happening right now, in the midst of a pandemic when the end of Brexit is upon us, and speaks to the nature of this particular Number 10.
Johnson may have finally decided that he really needs to control himself.
