Prime ministers are never more powerful than just before a cabinet reshuffle. Ministers fall over themselves to be helpful, hoping to secure their position or move up the pecking order. Backbenchers start hailing the Prime Minister’s every decision as an act of firm and enlightened leadership. This spectacle is underway ahead of next month’s well-trailed reshuffle, which has already been dubbed the ‘Valentine’s Day Massacre’ by Whitehall wags.