When things get tough for government, call in Grant Shapps, the perfect schmoozer | Simon Jenkins

It was once said that no minister could coherently lead a Whitehall department in under two years. Shapps seems to believe he can do it in two days

Why is every British public service seemingly a shambles? The answer is that no one is in charge. The appointment last week of Grant Shapps to his fifth cabinet job in a year may be taken from the plot of some Ruritanian court comedy. Can it be serious that five great departments of state, including home affairs, transport, energy and now defence, hav...