In his 1938 novel Brighton Rock, Graham Greene sought to address great questions of right and wrong against a backdrop of ruthless score-settling. The book is a favourite of Nick Timothy, who — as much as anyone — is now charged with moving British politics on from its own bout of bloodletting.
As joint chief of staff to Theresa May, the lavishly bearded Mr Timothy, 36, has emerged as the power behind the throne, or at least one of the most influential voices in front of it. When the prime minister abruptly paused French-Chinese plans to build a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, her thinking was traced back to a blog that he had written nine months earlier, warning of China’s security threat.
Similarly, Mrs May’s new enthusiasm for industrial strategy and scepticism of foreign takeovers align neatly with his long-held views. Her few wide-ranging speeches have been mostly written by him. “It’s difficult to know where the overlap starts and stops,” says one friend.