Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden will be in charge of running the country this week when Rishi Sunak takes a long-awaited holiday for the first time in several years.
Mr Dowden, 44, has represented the Prime Minister in the House of Commons previously, including when Mr Sunak attended the NATO summit in Lithuania earlier this month.
But this will be his first opportunity to stand in fully for the Prime Minister as head of the Government.
Mr Dowden, known at Westminster by his nickname “Olive”, helped organise the King’s Coronation in his role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He served as Culture Secretary when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister.
After taking the opportunity to recharge his batteries, Mr Sunak is expected to set out his vision for Britain in the autumn while taking a more aggressive approach to his Labour opponents.
He has started work on a planned reshuffle, though this it is not expected until September.
A triumvirate of the Prime Minister, Chief Whip Simon Hart and James Forsyth, Mr Sunak’s political secretary and close friend, are understood to have met to draw up plans.
There are rumours “big beasts” who have served under previous Prime Ministers could return, with Mr Sunak drawing on their experience to help him toughen up attacks on Labour.
A reshuffle is required in order to replace Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who has announced he wishes to leave the Government.
Some Conservatives had been expecting changes immediately after the by-elections two weeks ago.
But the Tory victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip has provided the Government with some breathing space and allowed reshuffle to be delayed. However, it will need to be completed in good time for the Conservative conference in Manchester at the start of October.
This will be followed by the King’s Speech on November 7, setting out the Government’s plans for the year ahead, with an autumn financial statement from the Chancellor also expected.
Mr Sunak will argue that he has largely achieved his goals of restoring stability and getting inflation under control, and can now introduce new measures such as a massive crackdown on crime.
