Rishi Sunak, who replaced Liz Truss after only 44 days of her tenure as Prime Minister of the U.K., has appointed a new Cabinet.
Although he sacked many Truss’s backers, some ministers have kept their jobs, as Sunak strives to preserve the unity of the Conservative Party, which is going through a serious crisis.
As Sky News noted, the new prime minister attempted to form the government of "all the talents".
Sunak did it amid calls from senior Tories to appoint the best ministers available rather than focusing on those who are loyal to him, as his predecessors had done. Who is who in the new cabinet?
Who are the newly appointed members of the British government under Rishi Sunak?
Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Jeremy Hunt is keeping his job as chancellor, having reversed the majority of Liz Truss's mini-budget. He pledged to lay out plans for balancing the books with a fiscal statement on October 31.
Hunt is seen as a steady hand, so keeping him could be an attempt to reassure the markets. His appointment could also be seen as political, as the secretary had backed Sunak in the last two leadership
James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary
- James Cleverly has been reappointed as foreign secretary despite being a Liz Truss backer. After Truss resigned, he initially came out in support of Boris Johnson's return to the prime minister’s office, but after he gave up on his comeback, Cleverly voiced support for Sunak.
It’s his position, along with the defense secretary, that’s seen as crucial to maintaining support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Ben Wallace, Defense Secretary
- Although he backed Boris Johnson's leadership bid, Ben Wallace has also kept his job as defense secretary, just like he wanted. Wallace was one of the few cabinet secretaries to keep their job during the Johnson and Truss premierships.
The newspaper points out that Wallace could reject the job as Sunak has not publicly committed to spending 3% of GDP on defense by 2030. After having been appointed, the defense secretary said that he would quit if that pledge by Liz Truss was not honored.
Given that both Wallace and Cleverly kept their jobs as defense and foreign secretaries, there will be no major shift in Britain’s foreign policy, including toward Ukraine.
Suella Braverman, Home Secretary
- Suella Braverman is back as home secretary less than a week after she quit for breaching the ministerial code by sending classified documents from her personal email.
The secretary was not a Sunak supporter, although announced her backing of him late on October 23. Her appointment will be seen as trying to keep all wings of the party on board, while showing Sunak's intention to take a hard line on immigration.
Penny Mordaunt, House of Commons leader
- Penny Mordaunt, Mr Sunak's two-time leadership rival, will be keeping her job as Commons Leader. After she had hoped to become prime minister, and later had been hoping to be appointed as foreign secretary, Mordaunt didn’t look too happy with the appointment.
The main role of a Commons Leader is to organize government business.
Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary
- Dominic Raab has been appointed deputy PM and justice secretary. The loyal supporter of Mr Sunak has been handed his old jobs back, having held them under Boris Johnson. He also criticized Liz Truss's tax plans, calling them "electoral suicide".
Grant Shapps, Business and Energy Secretary
- Grant Shapps, who was drafted in to replace Ms Braverman as home secretary six days ago, has been appointed as business and energy secretary. Earlier he served as transport secretary under Boris Johnson.
Michael Gove, Leveling Up Secretary
- Michael Gove has been given his old job of leveling-up secretary three months after being sacked by Boris Johnson. His comeback іs thought to be a tactical move by Mr Sunak, as Mr Gove has not been shy about criticizing the government from the backbenches.
Steve Barclay, Health Secretary
- Steve Barclay has been appointed health secretary taking over from Therese Coffey. He had been Brexit secretary under Theresa May and served as health secretary over the summer in Boris Johnson's interim cabinet.
Therese Coffey, Environment Secretary
- Therese Coffey, a friend and ally of Liz Truss who was deputy prime minister and health secretary until today, remained in the government but has been appointed environment secretary.
Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education
- Gillian Keegan becomes secretary of state for education and is the fifth person to hold this role in just over a year. This is Ms Keegan's first cabinet position. Under Johnson, she was the parliamentary under-secretary for apprenticeships and skills.
Kemi Badenoch, International Trade Secretary
- Kemi Badenoch, a former leadership candidate, has been reappointed as international trade secretary, and also minister for women and equalities. She was first given the cabinet post by Liz Truss.
Simon Hart, Chief Whip
- Simon Hart has been appointed chief whip. He is a popular MP in the party and a former Welsh secretary. The chief whip is in charge of party discipline, telling Tory MPs how they should vote on certain issues.
Mel Stride, Work and Pensions Secretary
- Mel Stride has been promoted into the cabinet as work and pensions secretary. It is perhaps unsurprising after running Rishi Sunak's campaign over the summer.
Stride was instrumental in calling for an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast to go alongside the spending plans of Truss's Cabinet after the turmoil caused by her mini-budget. He has also called for benefits to rise in line with inflation.
Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative Party Chairman
- Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed Conservative Party chairman. He was briefly chancellor under Boris Johnson after Sunak resigned. Later, he called on Johnson to quit days after accepting the top cabinet job.
Zahawi previously served as a vaccines minister and education secretary under Johnson, and he was the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under Truss.
His appointment as chairman came as a surprise, as he had backed Johnson to return as prime minister during the last leadership race. However, after Johnson had dropped out of the race, Zahawi voiced his support for Sunak.
Michelle Donelan, Digital Secretary
- Michelle Donelan, a loyal Sunak supporter, has kept her job as secretary for digital, culture, media and sport.
Donelan, who became an MP alongside Mr Sunak in 2015, was education secretary for two days under Johnson. Before that she worked as parliamentary under-secretary for children and then universities minister.
Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland Secretary
- Chris Heaton-Harris has been reappointed as Northern Ireland secretary. He was first appointed to this role by Truss at the start of September.
He has one of the more difficult portfolios, given the collapsed executive in Northern Ireland — where another election could soon be triggered — and disputes with the EU over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Alister Jack, Scotland Secretary
- Alister Jack is keeping his job as Scotland secretary, a post he has held since July 2019.
David TC Davies, Wales Secretary
- David TC Davies has been promoted to Wales secretary, taking over from Robert Buckland who resigned on Tuesday morning. Davies, the MP for Monmouth since 2005, chaired the Welsh Affairs Committee from 2010 to 2019.
Oliver Dowden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Sunak's closest political friend Oliver Dowden becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He will be PM's ears and eyes in the Cabinet Office, ensuring the effective running of government.
In June 2022, he resigned as party chairman after a disastrous double by-election loss under Johnson.
John Glen, Chief Secretary to the Treasury
- Another of Sunak's allies, John Glen, becomes chief secretary to the Treasury.
Victoria Prentis, attorney general
- Work and pensions minister Victoria Prentis takes up the role of attorney general.
Jeremy Quin, Paymaster General
- Former home office minister Jeremy Quin becomes paymaster general.
Tom Tugendhat, Security Minister
- Tom Tugendhat, who had been named among the leadership candidates after Johnson’s resignation, was re-appointed as security minister.
Johnny Mercer, Veterans' Affairs Minister
- Johnny Mercer has returned to the role of veterans' affairs minister.
Gavin Williamson, Minister without Portfolio
- Sir Gavin Williamson returns to government as a minister without portfolio. He was kicked out of government in 2019 when serving as defense secretary over a National Security Council leak and was sacked as education secretary in 2021 for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic's impact on schools.
Robert Jenrick, міністр імміграції
- Former housing secretary Robert Jenrick has been appointed minister for immigration.
Who resigned from Rishi Sunak’s cabinet
Before Rishi Sunak announced key posts, a number of Liz Truss's cabinet announced they were leaving the government.
The following are those who resigned from the British Government:
- Jacob Rees-Mogg — as business secretary (Johnson’s and Truss’s close ally who called Sunak a "socialist");
- Brandon Lewis — as justice secretary (pledged his support for Sunak from the backbenches);
- Robert Buckland — as Welsh secretary (initially supported Sunak in the summer, but swapped to Truss);
- Jake Berry — as Conservative Party chairman;
- Kit Malthouse — as education secretary;
- Chloe Smith — as secretary of state for work and pensions (she was a big ally of Liz Truss);
- Ranil Jayawardena — as environment secretary;
- Simon Clarke — as leveling-up secretary (he was one of Liz Truss's most vocal supporters during the summer and also backed Boris Johnson);
- Wendy Morton — as chief whip;
- Vicky Ford — as foreign minister;
- Alok Sharma — as minister of state at the cabinet office (however, he will remain COP26 [2022 UN Climate Change Conference] president and will negotiate on behalf of the UK at COP27).
Read also
Ukraine's Recovery: How to Change Critically Low Citizen Engagement Indicators?
The future has already arrived: blockchain technologies in the global economy and everyday life
