Until this week, David Cameron had avoided making wholesale changes to his cabinet – but with only nine months until an election in which his party trails in the polls he decided to act.
Out went Michael Gove, whose education reforms have incensed teachers. William Hague announced his intention to leave professional politics altogether. Veteran Ken Clarke got the heave-ho, as did the liberal-minded attorney general Dominic Grieve, who has resisted all pressure to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
There were new jobs for Nicky Morgan, Liz Truss, Stephen Crabb and Michael Fallon, among others.
Joining Tom Clark in the studio to decode it all: Guardian political writers Anne Perkins and Rafael Behr, and our political diarist Hugh Muir.
Also this week: after Cameron mischievously threw a context-free quote from Harriet Harman suggesting Labour would raise taxes on middle classes, has the fight for the election already got dirty? And would it help Labour if Ed Miliband fleshed out the party's thinking on tax for the next parliament?
Plus, with MPs heading for the beaches, what books (or e-books) should they be loading into their suitcases for the long summer recess?
Listen to the podcast and leave your thoughts below.
