Should David Cameron still be inside 10 Downing Street after the next election, he will deserve to be known as the greatest escape artist since Houdini.

In 2010, under his leadership, the Tories failed to gain over 40 per cent of the vote even though the outgoing Labour government had messed up the economy. So what makes him think he can secure the extra votes he needs at the next election to win a majority?

Yesterday’s reshuffle was part of his attempt to provide an answer and marked the start of his campaign for re-election as Prime Minister. He has put in place a team that he hopes will do something no new government has managed for 40 years: win a bigger share of the vote at the second election than his first.