This week's reshuffle saw the end of the government career of Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey - at least for now.

Dr Coffey was actually the longest continually-serving member of the government having originally joined the Front Bench as a junior whip in  2014.

She had had three cabinet posts - and spent six weeks as Deputy Prime Minister during Liz Truss's disastrous  Premiership last year.

But during her nine years of government service there have been increasing grumblings from her constituency that Dr Coffey isn't doing enough in this part of the world.

In fairness, it's probably fair to say she hasn't been seen to be doing enough - she has attended meetings with businesses and councils and other bodies but hasn't felt able to shout about them because of her ministerial responsibilities.

Now she's been given back her freedom to comment on local issues, and when I spoke to her earlier this week I got the distinct impression she's looking forward to doing  that.

But I think she still needs to do more.

I've heard criticism - from Conservatives supporters in the area as well as her opponents - that she just isn't seen out and about as much as they'd like in the constituency.

She should start to do more of her shopping in Felixstowe, Woodbridge, Leiston and Saxmundham (there are some excellent shops in that part of the world). 

Maybe invite her friends to some of the great restaurants and hotels in Southwold and Aldeburgh - and be seen there by the people whose votes she will need in the General Election.

Clearly being a minister for nine years has taken its toll - but I can't think of a better place to rediscover a sane work-life balance than Suffolk Coastal!

The reshuffle also left two other local MPs in important government roles - South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge remains as Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Bury St Edmunds' Jo Churchill has been promoted to be Minister of State at Work and Pensions.

Overall my initial feeling was that the reshuffle had strengthened the mainstream Conservatives with the return of Lord David Cameron to politics and the sacking of Mrs Braverman.

However the publication of the former Home Secretary's venom-dripping letter to the PM on Tuesday just widened the split that already exists in the party.

Add yesterday's Supreme Court decision into the mix and the Conservative Party doesn't so much look like a "Wide Church" it looks more like a totally dysfunctional family where the various different factions all hate each other with a passion.

Two of those who sat round the cabinet table with Mr Sunak - Nadine Dorries and now Mrs Braverman - have launched savage attacks on his character as well as policies.

A third ex-minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns has submitted a motion of no confidence in Mr Sunak's leadership to the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs.

At the same time a senior Conservative said to me after the reshuffle: "I just felt a sense of relief when David Cameron came back - it showed that we haven't just given in to the extreme right wing."

To be honest I don't think there was any doubt that the Conservative Party was split before the reshuffle - and whatever had happened would not have papered over the cracks.

What it did was give new hope to the mainstream and give the party more hope of saving some suburban seats on the south east that were becoming vulnerable to both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

It won't help the party in the "Red Wall" seats that it's picked up recently - but then nothing was going to be any use there.

What Tory strategists fail to realise is that in the vast majority of those seats it wasn't a love of Boris Johnson that won them in 2019 - it was a terror of Jeremy Corbyn!