Suella Braverman is gone but her hard right, cruel, divisive politicking cannot and will not be forgotten.

Her shadow will loom large over both the position of home secretary and the government, not least as her departure comes just 48 hours before a crucial supreme court decision on Wednesday, when judges will announce a ruling on whether Braverman's Rwanda deportation plan will go ahead.

Should the ruling be yes, it can, will incumbent home secretary James Cleverly press ahead with the plan? If it is no, what will he do instead?

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Cleverly's appointment in Braverman's former role was declared on the Conservative's X account with the words "Will Stop the Boats".

He gave a short interview of only a few minutes to the BBC, standing outside the building of his new office. In that brief space of time he mentioned three times he would "stop the boats".

This truncated phrase - which says so much and so little simultaneously - is a key tenet of Rishi Sunak's prime ministership, that of stopping people crossing the Channel to the UK in small boats, and so it is vital for Tory party stability and reputation that the aim is achieved.

It has been framed as the one and only policy success that might reverse the ravaged party's fortunes. A lot is riding on James Cleverly, with this and with clearing up the mess left by his predecessor in stirring up hatred and division.

Will he be more reasonable on the issue of asylum seeker and refugee rights or will he persist in Braverman's racist, xenophobic and bullying practices? His track record is poor.

One tiny glimmer of hope is that on the issue of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) he showed some independent thinking in his role as foreign secretary.

Nominative determinism has never failed so completely as in the case of the new home secretary, but on the issue of the UK's membership of the ECHR he showed a little sense at least.

When backbench rebels were earlier this year pushing for Sunak to harden the Illegal Migration Bill even further, designing it to allow for interim rulings of the European court of human rights to be ignored, Cleverly refused to, pardon the pun, get on board.

He defied the Tory party's right flank by arguing for the UK to remain a signatory of the convention, saying he was "not convinced" that leaving the group was necessary for shoring up the immigration system.

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He credited the UK with enough clout to negotiate for any necessary changes and said the group of those countries outwith the ECHR was a small club Britain did not want to be part of.

It showed more backbone than David Cameron, astonishingly appointed to Cleverly's vacant post. He told LBC earlier this year that he had "huge sympathy" for the government in trying to "collapse the business of people smugglers".

"I think if you don't have a better answer to the things the government is doing to try and stop this illegal trade," Lord Cameron said, "then I think there's no point criticising.

"Until you've got a better answer you won't find me in radio and television studios telling Suella Braverman what to do."

Let's hope this isn't his permanent position now he finds himself in the cabinet. A better answer is needed and fast.

When things are so politically dire you look for nuggets of hope but Cleverly's sense on the ECHR is a light bite. He far from excelled as home secretary - will his new role suit him much better?

David Cameron's appointment might distract the news cycle for 24 hours but the crucial question is of James Cleverly's approach to this so-called pledge to stop the boats.

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Wednesday’s court ruling is going to set the narrative for how this issue is discussed: it will be framed by Tory backers as a win for clueless, bleeding heart liberals happy to see the country go to the dogs. Or it will be framed as a victory for robust defence of Britain and common sense.

It is, as a scheme, almost entirely rhetoric. It will too expensive and far too unwieldy to ship new arrivals off to Rwanda; it will not be a deterrent.

It is all performance – a technique this government has become achingly good at. How Cleverly responds to Wednesday’s judgement will set the tone for his role in office and for the tone, more generally, of Sunak’s new cabinet.

The response to the ruling is to be watched closely: it speaks to the decency, or otherwise, of this cabinet and how seriously Sunak is looking for change.