The UK Government could struggle to appoint anyone to replace him at present, and another general election soon is a distinct possibility, so goodness knows who we might get next.
He employed the 'we don't get applications, if we do we'll fund good ones' shuffle at Monaghan's ME debate, right? Anyone who uses that without acknowledging that researchers don't bother because of the history of turndowns is full of it. I remember Susan Mayer spouting that stuff.