Carrie Johnson: How much influence does the PM's wife have?

Carrie Johnson enjoyed a rapturous reception at a Conservative LGBT+ party conference event in Manchester this evening, as she hailed the prime minister's record on gay rights.

With Mr Johnson watching from the back of the hall, she told the crowd: "Boris also wanted me to remind you that, as mayor, he led the Pride parade in a rather fetching pink stetson."

It was a characteristic Carrie Johnson moment.

Most political spouses have had careers outside politics and just try to get through the ordeal of party conference with the least fuss, posing for the cameras and avoiding an embarrassing trip on the steps.

But unlike most of her predecessors, Mrs Johnson is steeped in party politics - and, as a result, is the focus of intense media scrutiny over how much influence she has over the prime minister.

Before becoming Boris Johnson's third wife, she was a major player behind the scenes at Conservative headquarters.

By the age of just 29, she had become the party's director of communications, and has also worked for a string of senior ministers including Sajid Javid, John Whittingdale and Lord Zac Goldsmith.

Several of her friends work in the media, Downing Street or other government departments.

The prime minister's former adviser Dominic Cummings is not one of them.

Mr Cummings described her as a "crazy girlfriend" and suggested in a BBC interview that she wanted to be "pulling the strings" in Number 10 and had tried to "appoint complete clowns to certain key jobs".

At a select committee hearing, he alleged that on one occasion Mr Johnson was distracted from dealing with Covid because Mrs Johnson was "going completely crackers" over a newspaper story about her dog.

Political friends who have worked closely with Mrs Johnson say these suggestions are deeply unfair.

One told me: "She's very bright and has always had strongly held views about the environment and animal welfare which are shared by many voters.

"Of course, she and her husband will have conversations but the idea she's pulling the strings is ridiculous, it stems from misogyny and jealousy…..Cummings saw her as a threat and declared war on her."

Others think her influence is greater than that.

A former Downing Street official, who has known the couple for years, says: "She's very savvy, highly political and incredibly forceful.

"She doesn't wait to be asked her opinion, she makes it clear what she believes and he listens. MPs complain all the time that Boris changes his mind once he's spoken to her. They're completely in love and he listens to what she say."

Another insider points to the expensive refurbishment of the Downing Street flat as an example of the trouble that can arise when Mr Johnson does not intervene.

"Her big mistake was the wallpaper. Anyone who's ever met Boris knows he's not remotely interested in interior design and it really damaged him."

One cabinet minister I spoke to believes Boris Johnson's recent cabinet reshuffle demonstrates the limits of Mrs Johnson's influence.

He says ministers joke amongst themselves about who she is reported to dislike, but many of the names that had been circulating recently survived in their jobs.

Cherie Blair was probably the last prime minister's wife to attract this much attention, but some think Carrie Johnson enjoys the limelight rather more.

Many point out, though, that all prime ministers rely on their spouse and it's a positive thing that Boris Johnson has someone with political nous to offer words of wisdom.

Prime ministers' spouses have enjoyed a high profile before.

Cherie Blair grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons in 2006, when she reportedly accused then chancellor Gordon Brown of lying during his big conference speech in Manchester.

The row threatened to overshadow husband Tony's final conference speech as party leader the following day.

Mr Blair was able to defuse the situation with a quip at the start of his speech, telling delegates: "At least I don't have to worry about her running off with the bloke next door."

Mr Brown's wife, Sarah, hit the conference headlines two years later - when she made a surprise appearance on stage ahead of his leader's speech.

Mrs Brown's heartfelt introduction to her other half, who was having a torrid time in No 10, went down so well the conference-goers she did it again the following year.

In what was seen as an attempt to humanise Mr Brown's austere public image, she described him as her "hero", adding: "I know he's not a saint - he's messy, he's noisy, he gets up at a terrible hour - but I know that he wakes up every morning and goes to bed every evening thinking about the things that matter.

"I know he loves our country and I know he will always, always put you first."

Samantha Cameron largely stayed out of the spotlight at party conferences during husband David's time in power, although her fashion choices were always the subject of tabloid commentary.

Theresa May's husband, Philip, kept an even lower profile, but she was certainly glad of a supportive hug from him at the end of her 2017 conference speech, when everything that could go wrong did.