This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/world/europe/uk-cabinet-theresa-may.html

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Theresa May, New British Prime Minister, Fires Justice Secretary Michael Gove Theresa May’s British Cabinet Has New Faces but Old Divides
(about 4 hours later)
LONDON — Michael Gove, one of Britain’s most polarizing politicians and the man at the center of much recent intrigue in the governing Conservative Party, was fired on Thursday by the new prime minister, Theresa May, as she overhauled the cabinet. LONDON — Sacking adversaries and promoting allies, Prime Minister Theresa May was finalizing a cabinet on Thursday intended to carry through Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union while underscoring her desire to pursue more centrist policies at home.
Ms. May, who took power on Wednesday after David Cameron formally stepped aside, continued to make big changes after her early — and most surprising — decision to appoint Boris Johnson, the former London mayor, as foreign secretary. But her moves to put her mark on the government also highlighted how the referendum on Britain’s relationship with the Continent, intended to settle a long-simmering battle within the Conservative Party, left the party still split over how to go about decoupling from Europe.
The appointment of Mr. Johnson, an outspoken critic of British membership in the European Union whose political future looked to be in doubt after Mr. Gove, the justice secretary, essentially forced him out of the race to become prime minister, was met with some bemusement and concern abroad. British politics has been in flux since last month’s vote to quit the European Union, followed by leadership battles in both main parties, and finally a change of prime minister when Ms. May took over on Wednesday from David Cameron.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, speaking on Thursday on Europe 1 radio, said he was “not at all worried” about Mr. Johnson, but he added, “You know full well what his style is, his method — during the campaign he lied a lot to the British people.” Steady and serious, Ms. May wants to end the turmoil. But on Wednesday, she surprised her own country and many allies by choosing Boris Johnson, the former London mayor and the public face of the campaign to leave the European Union, to be foreign secretary, although he has a long record of impolitic remarks. Despite the criticism that Mr. Johnson’s appointment brought, Ms. May apparently judged that it was better to have him as a member of her team than as a free agent outside it.
Speaking about Britain, he said, “we need a partner that we can negotiate with, who is clear, credible and reliable.” On Thursday, Ms. May jettisoned one of the nation’s most divisive politicians, Michael Gove, who had been the justice minister. Mr. Gove had worked closely with Mr. Johnson in managing the Leave campaign, but then maneuvered Mr. Johnson out of the race to become prime minister, only to see his own effort to secure the job fall short.
Mr. Ayrault said that Mr. Johnson had much at stake, on several fronts. “Now he is the one who has his back against the wall: He has his back against the wall to defend his country, but he also has his back against the wall to ensure that the relationship with Europe is clear,” Mr. Ayrault said. Even before Mr. Gove was fired, fault lines were emerging over how to carry out “Brexit,” the British exit from the European Union. On Thursday, the new chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, who is responsible for economic policy, stressed the importance of securing access to the European Union’s single market for Britain’s financial services sector and maintaining London’s place as a global financial capital. He suggested that the country move quickly to forge a new relationship with Europe to reduce the uncertainty hanging over the economy.
He urged Britain to quickly initiate the process to leave the European Union, saying, “We cannot let this ambiguous and murky situation last, in the interest of the British themselves, I would even say.” Yet, partly to shield herself from the right of her party, Ms. May has put some of those most committed to British withdrawal in charge of negotiating Brexit, politicians whose previous statements suggest that they plan to play hardball that may put back the prospects of a deal with Europe.
In naming Mr. Johnson foreign secretary, Ms. May apparently judged that it was better to have him as a member of her team than as a free agent outside it. While he will have a central role in defining Britain’s place in the world in the aftermath of the June 23 referendum in which voters backed a withdrawal from the European Union, he was notably not given responsibility for two of the most immediate challenges facing the new government: negotiating the terms of an exit from the bloc and negotiating new trade deals with the rest of the world. “Theresa May needed to bring some Brexiteers into the government in order to protect herself and to counter the charge that she is a closet remainer,” said Simon Tilford, the deputy director of the Center for European Reform, a London-based research institute, noting that she had argued to stay inside the European Union, albeit rather tepidly.
Mr. Gove’s fate had been the source of immense speculation, especially in light of his tense relationship with Ms. May, and his was one of the most high-profile departures along with that of George Osborne, who was replaced on Wednesday as chancellor of the Exchequer by Philip Hammond, who moved from the foreign office. Liz Truss, the environment secretary, will replace Mr. Gove as justice secretary. “But the risk is that this prolongs the very high degree of uncertainty over the British economy, that we see relations deteriorating with other countries, and that this militates against negotiating a deal,” he added.
Ms. Truss, in turn, was replaced on Thursday by Andrea Leadsom, who had been the sole remaining challenger to Ms. May to lead the Conservative Party until she abruptly dropped out on Monday. Ms. Leadsom then threw her support behind Ms. May, a move that cleared the way for her to lead the party and become prime minister. While Ms. May promises to deliver Brexit, she speaks with more passion about her domestic agenda. On the steps of 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, she said that she would lead a battle against “burning injustice” and help create opportunities for all, not just a “privileged few.”
Mr. Gove had been moved to the position of justice secretary after a spell as the education secretary during which he angered teachers’ unions and some parents with a series of policy changes. He also clashed with Ms. May, then the home secretary, over allegations of extremism in state schools in Birmingham. She wasted no time in dispensing with the services of George Osborne, the former chancellor of the Exchequer and the architect of public spending curbs, and appointing new faces to domestic ministries: Amber Rudd at the Home Office, and Justine Greening at the Department of Education.
More recently, Mr. Gove emerged as a central, and treacherous, figure in the drama before and after the referendum. However, Mr. Osborne’s replacement, Mr. Hammond, who must find the money for any new social spending programs, “has a reputation as a fiscal hawk, which potentially conflicts with May’s pledge to ease up on the pace of austerity,” said Kallum Pickering, the chief economist for the United Kingdom at Berenberg, an investment bank.
First, he abandoned his friend and ally, Mr. Cameron, who wanted Britain to remain in the 28-nation bloc. Then, he went on to play a leading role, along with Mr. Johnson, in campaigning for a “Brexit,” as it is commonly known. Mr. Hammond on Thursday highlighted the importance of resolving Britain’s new relationships with the European Union, telling the BBC that “if there is one thing that is damaging our economy today — right now — it is uncertainty for businesses.”
After Mr. Cameron announced plans to resign after the vote, Mr. Gove turned on Mr. Johnson by entering the race to head the Conservative Party. Mr. Hammond made a special plea on behalf of London’s financial services sector, a prominent part of the country’s economy and a huge generator of tax revenues that finance social spending.
In doing so, Mr. Gove undermined Mr. Johnson, arguing that he did not have the qualities needed to take over from Mr. Cameron. “We have to make sure that in our negotiations with the E.U. we have very clearly in our minds the need to ensure access to the European Union single market for our financial services,” he added.
Mr. Gove’s bid for power ultimately flopped, and Ms. May learned on Monday that she would become prime minister, after Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race to lead the governing Conservative Party, and therefore the government. The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, urged Britain to quickly begin the process to leave the European Union, saying, “We cannot let this ambiguous and murky situation last, in the interest of the British themselves, I would even say.”
Among the others affected on Thursday was the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, who had supported Mr. Gove in his campaign to take over the party leadership. She was replaced by Justine Greening, who was previously the secretary state for international development. But that may not be the priority of David Davis, a veteran lawmaker and former Europe minister, who will head up a new ministry responsible for Brexit, or of Liam Fox, who will be in charge of negotiating international trade deals.
Ms. May also removed John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, who had argued for changes to the BBC, contending that it could be smaller, less costly and less competitive with British newspapers and private television channels. Mr. Davis seems to be gearing up for a war of attrition with other European Union nations. In an article on the Conservative Home website, published earlier this month, he suggested that Europe would ultimately buckle and give Britain continued tariff-free access to the single market.
In addition to appointing Mr. Johnson foreign secretary, Ms. May gave two other jobs on Wednesday to senior supporters of the “Leave” campaign: David Davis, a former Europe minister who will be negotiating the country’s withdrawal from the European Union, and Liam Fox, a former defense secretary who will be in charge of international trade. “Once the European nations realize that we are not going to budge on control of our borders, they will want to talk, in their own interest,” he said.
In doing so, Ms. May appears to have calculated that she had promoted enough senior supporters of a withdrawal to dispense with Mr. Gove, whose victory in the referendum now appears to have been a Pyrrhic one. Yet European leaders have made clear that they do not intend to give way to Britain’s demand that it get unimpeded trading rights with the Continent without adhering to the bloc’s immigration rules, which require member countries to let European Union citizens live and work where they wish. That open-borders policy, as much as any other factor, drove British sentiment against the bloc.
The new cabinet was greeted with apprehension in Brussels, where representatives of the bloc will be negotiating Britain’s departure. As a result, the uncertainty could drag on for some time if Ms. May’s negotiators are not willing to reach a compromise on immigration, potentially hurting the economy and giving other nations time to poach British business, not least from among banks and investment firms that are now considering moving some operations away from London.
Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, sent a statement on Thursday to a German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, appearing to criticize the membership of the new government in London. Mr. Tilford argues that the main pro-Brexit campaigners are ill equipped to negotiate, saying that they lack understanding of how the European Union works, what trade-offs are required and, therefore, of what deals are possible.
“We will work constructively with the newly elected British government in these difficult times, as we have in the past,” Mr. Schulz said in the statement, made available in English to The New York Times later on Thursday. He pointed to some of Mr. Davis’s Twitter posts that called for “a UK-German deal” allowing access to Britain for German cars and other goods in exchange for a deal on British exports, and claimed that “similar deals would be reached with other key EU nations.”
“However, the composition of the new cabinet shows that the focus is less on the future of the country but more about satisfying the internal cohesion of the Tory party.” In fact, the European Union reaches trade agreements as a bloc, rather than on a country-by-country basis, so Germany would not even negotiate directly with Britain.
Mr. Schulz expressed concern about the “dangerously vicious cycle” in British politics that has an effect beyond the country’s borders. “We are in an uncertain and difficult situation in Europe,” he said, “which is why all those involved have to act very responsibly.” But Mr. Tilford thinks that there may be “method in the madness” of Ms. May’s central pro-Brexit cabinet appointments.
“They are going to be confronted by the reality,” he said. “It won’t be possible for them to continue to claim that you can have your cake and eat it. They are going to be negotiating with other countries, and they will no longer be able to rely on bluster and obfuscation.”
Mr. Tilford said that if ideological supporters of Brexit failed or were discredited, that would force a reality check on their supporters, leading to a more flexible negotiating stance.
Even under this scenario there is a hitch, however: the economy. “In the short to medium term, things can get a lot worse,” Mr. Tilford said.