Ed Davey says Gavin Williamson is the worst education secretary in living memory. He's right, of course.
But then Williamson is not alone in not deserving a place around the cabinet table.
Priti Patel resigned as secretary of state for international development when it emerged she had been holding meetings with Israeli officials without informing anyone in London. Yet somehow today she is home secretary.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is such a liability that he had to be hidden from voters during the last general election, but he is still leader of the House of Commons.
But maybe their presence should not be such a surprise.
Many Conservatives with principles - David Gauke, Rory Stewart, Nicholas Soames - were effectively sacked from the Commons by Boris Johnson in September 2019.
They were not the sort of people he wanted to surround himself with. Better to have malleable mediocrities who will do whatever they are told.
Better still to have people no other Conservative prime minister would dream of appointing to the cabinet. They will know that they owe their careers to Johnson and that any successful rebellion against him would inevitably lead to the end of those careers.
It's probably all in Machiavelli: surround yourself with people who should never have been put in a position of power and you will be much more secure.
