Introducing Dan Rosenfield, Boris Johnson’s organisation man

THE FIRST months of Boris Johnson’s tenure as mayor of London, back in 2008, were, by common consent, a mess. Projects fizzled. Senior aides flounced. Chaos reigned. Then “bungling Boris”, as the newspapers dubbed him, appointed a talented chief of staff. The self-effacing but effective Simon Milton brought order to chaos and turned dither into decisiveness. Mr Johnson became Britain’s most popular Tory and was re-elected by a landslide.

His first year in Downing Street recalls those early days in the mayor’s office. A slow response to the outbreak of covid-19 may have doubled the death rate; clumsy handling of the purchase of personal protective equipment left front-line workers vulnerable and led to dodgy deals to get hold of the stuff; faffing about exams generated confusion and anxiety. The angry departure of Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s former chief adviser, and his Brexiteer acolytes left Downing Street shell-shocked. Party discipline has collapsed. On December 1st 53 Tory MPs voted against the government’s tiered-lockdown system and 16 abstained, the biggest revolt since Mr Johnson became prime minister.

But his premiership may be about to undergo a transformation, for he may have found himself a new Simon Milton. Dan Rosenfield is due to take over as his chief of staff on January 1st. In a political world in...