Can Rishi Sunak retain his superstar status as his flagship policies come to an end?

It’s going to get harder for the chancellor through the economic chill of the autumn – but the cabinet in which he serves is desperately short of big hitters, writes James Moore

The chancellor’s popularity took off in lockdown because he took out the national cheque book (PA)

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Rishiman, the pandemic-battered Tory government’s solo superhero.

Basic competence, which he possesses, shouldn’t be a seen as superpower, but in this administration it is.

Rishi Sunak is the star of a cabinet chosen by a prime minister whose weakness and insecurity causes him to value blind loyalty above ability. Sunak has shown that loyalty, but he has also demonstrated a degree of operational and political talent that makes him a rare beast indeed.