Sajid Javid faces political test to soften cold image

Sajid Javid is a Star Trek buff whose last visit to the theatre was to see War Horse. That much is known, but around the arts and sports world, there is a fear that the new culture secretary may have limited cultural horizons.

Michael Rosen, the children's poet and author, welcomed Mr Javid with an open letter declaring: "We've never met, but that's because I work in 'culture' and you have spent most of your adult life in banking."

Mr Javid's friends say he is "not really a sporting person", although he enjoys football World Cups and takes an interest in Manchester United. As for the arts: "He's spent most of the last 10 years taking his kids to Disney films," says one colleague.

Although this lack of a broad cultural hinterland leaves him vulnerable to allegations of being a philistine, Mr Javid will appease his critics if he uses his clout in government to deliver for Britain's cultural industries. While his predecessor Maria Miller had icy relations with George Osborne, Mr Javid has privileged access to the man with the money.

Whether he uses that access remains to be seen, although the Treasury insists it has recently helped the film industry, local theatre and amateur sports clubs.

The culture job will be an intriguing test of whether Mr Javid can soften his image as a somewhat cold numbers man, whose sharp suits and demeanour are more evocative of international finance than the mean streets of Bristol.

One friend says: "I know him as a warm individual but he doesn't come across that way on television." In the Commons he can appear highly partisan and somewhat humourless.

His claim this year that Labour was partly responsible for Russia's annexation of Crimea because it opposed the bombing of President Assad's regime in Syria confirmed his status as a hard-edged Tory rightwinger.

While some Tory eurosceptics see this fellow Thatcherite as potentially the next party leader, others believe Mr Javid needs to soften his ideological image for a new era of politics. "He needs to reach across the aisle a bit more, adapt to an era when hung parliaments and coalitions could become the norm," said one friend. "But in a way he's an ideal heir to Thatcher: he shares her views on social mobility, markets and competition but he also recognises her weaknesses, particularly when it comes to helping those who are not able to rise up the social ladder."

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