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With less than a month to go before the budget that is meant to draw a line under a decade of austerity and unleash Britains potential, Boris Johnson has taken back control of the Treasury.

No 10 cannot have known how Johnsons former leadership rival, Sajid Javid, would respond to the demand that he sack his key policy advisers and instead accept guidance from the PMs team.

But they knew there was a strong possibility he would decide to walk: and they had a ready-made, super-loyal successor on hand just in case, in the form of Rishi Sunak, already chief secretary to the Treasury.

Downing Street described the plan that was put to Javid, of a joint No 10-No 11 team of advisers from which almost all of his current team would be left out as a way of ensuring chancellor and PM rise and fall together. But it would also have been read as a humiliation.

Clashes between Javid and Johnsons advisers had been whispered about at Westminster for weeks.

Allies had insisted the two men themselves got on well at a personal level, and Javid also has close links to the PMs influential partner, Carrie Symonds, who once worked for him.

But Johnson and his team were irked at a series of briefings about Javids role in big decisions including pre-empting the announcement on HS2 by revealing the Treasury would back it.

And there have been some policy differences, too though Downing Street insists these formed no part of the conversation on Thursday morning.

Johnson wants to take the opportunity of a chunky majority to take some potentially controversial decisions, including on tax and spending and Javids instincts, insiders say, were more cautious.

He had made clear his willingness to be considerably more flexible in sanctioning big-ticket spending than his predecessor, Spreadsheet Phil Hammond.

In his one set-piece speech during the election campaign, he set out something like Gordon Browns golden rule, allowing long-term investment spending including the PMs beloved infrastructure projects to be funded by borrowing. That in itself is a revolution in Conservative thinking.

But Javid also stressed that he was determined to balance the current budget, as it is known funding day-to-day spending through tax receipts which would constrain how much Johnson has available for upfront spending pledges, unless the government is willing to raise more tax.

Radical plans have been floated in recent weeks: even including a mansion tax on the most expensive homes and perhaps more likely, a revaluation of council tax to ensure the wealthier pay a higher rate.

But perhaps remembering George Osbornes pasty tax omnishambles budget and more recently, Hammond being forced to ditch a modest increase in national insurance after a backbench backlash Javid, friends say, is more cautious.

His departure underlines the determination of No 10 to hold all the levers of power over economic policy, and will be seen as a coup by his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.

But it may also suggest economic and tax policy is pointed in a more radical direction, as Johnson tries to make good on his promise to level up Britain.

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Sajid Javid's exit leaves Boris Johnson in control of Treasury - The Guardian