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| Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: promotions, demotions and exits | Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: promotions, demotions and exits |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Up: David Lidington, Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Up: David Lidington, Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster |
| David Lidington was justice secretary for six months before being called on by Theresa May to steady the ship in the Cabinet Office. On paper, it looks like a sideways cabinet move, as Lidington gains a courtesy title of “chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster” but loses a meaty policy portfolio. | David Lidington was justice secretary for six months before being called on by Theresa May to steady the ship in the Cabinet Office. On paper, it looks like a sideways cabinet move, as Lidington gains a courtesy title of “chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster” but loses a meaty policy portfolio. |
| However, he has greater importance than the title suggests because Lidington is taking over responsibilities from May’s former de facto deputy, Damian Green, who was sacked for lying about the presence of pornographic images on his House of Commons computer. | However, he has greater importance than the title suggests because Lidington is taking over responsibilities from May’s former de facto deputy, Damian Green, who was sacked for lying about the presence of pornographic images on his House of Commons computer. |
| Lidington is not getting Green’s title of first secretary of state, but the real importance of the Cabinet Office role is taking over chairmanship of at least some of the important cabinet committees, including the big Brexit ones. | Lidington is not getting Green’s title of first secretary of state, but the real importance of the Cabinet Office role is taking over chairmanship of at least some of the important cabinet committees, including the big Brexit ones. |
| That means he will be in charge of navigating cabinet divisions on some big Brexit policies over the coming months. | That means he will be in charge of navigating cabinet divisions on some big Brexit policies over the coming months. |
| Lidington was a passionate supporter of staying in the EU, as a former Europe minister for years under David Cameron. But he is also regarded as clever and fair by his colleagues, with a good eye for detail and practicalities, so his pro-EU sympathies may not count too much against him with Brexiters in cabinet such as Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. | Lidington was a passionate supporter of staying in the EU, as a former Europe minister for years under David Cameron. But he is also regarded as clever and fair by his colleagues, with a good eye for detail and practicalities, so his pro-EU sympathies may not count too much against him with Brexiters in cabinet such as Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. |
| It is not clear yet whether he will deputise for May at prime minister’s questions. He has done so in the past as leader of the Commons but he was outshone when he made his first outing against Labour’s Emily Thornberry. | It is not clear yet whether he will deputise for May at prime minister’s questions. He has done so in the past as leader of the Commons but he was outshone when he made his first outing against Labour’s Emily Thornberry. |
| Rowena Mason | Rowena Mason |
| Up: Brandon Lewis, party chairman and minister without portfolio | Up: Brandon Lewis, party chairman and minister without portfolio |
| Brandon Lewis’s rise to party chairman is an example of Theresa May rewarding loyalty. The 46-year-old was instrumental in her leadership campaign, rallying support from Conservative MPs behind the scenes. | Brandon Lewis’s rise to party chairman is an example of Theresa May rewarding loyalty. The 46-year-old was instrumental in her leadership campaign, rallying support from Conservative MPs behind the scenes. |
| Since then, he has served in her old patch at the Home Office, gaining a promotion to immigration minister attending cabinet after last year’s election. | Since then, he has served in her old patch at the Home Office, gaining a promotion to immigration minister attending cabinet after last year’s election. |
| Despite having supported the remain campaign at the EU referendum, Lewis has embraced the drive to create a new immigration system and spearheaded the proposed return to navy blue passports after Brexit. | Despite having supported the remain campaign at the EU referendum, Lewis has embraced the drive to create a new immigration system and spearheaded the proposed return to navy blue passports after Brexit. |
| He was also well-regarded by the party under Cameron, and tipped for promotion before the 2015 election, although the opposition points to his responsibility for the troubled policy areas of housing and fire safety during the coalition years. | He was also well-regarded by the party under Cameron, and tipped for promotion before the 2015 election, although the opposition points to his responsibility for the troubled policy areas of housing and fire safety during the coalition years. |
| Colleagues are likely to appreciate Lewis’s campaigning experience, as he won a marginal seat in the coastal area of Great Yarmouth from Labour in 2010. In the next two elections, he built up his majority and saw off a threat from Ukip. | Colleagues are likely to appreciate Lewis’s campaigning experience, as he won a marginal seat in the coastal area of Great Yarmouth from Labour in 2010. In the next two elections, he built up his majority and saw off a threat from Ukip. |
| However, there may be scepticism about whether he is the right man to overhaul the party’s social media operation. His own efforts have been mocked, including a video about why Great Yarmouth is great that featured him making thumbs-up signs in front of local landmarks. | However, there may be scepticism about whether he is the right man to overhaul the party’s social media operation. His own efforts have been mocked, including a video about why Great Yarmouth is great that featured him making thumbs-up signs in front of local landmarks. |
| Rowena Mason | Rowena Mason |
| In: James Cleverly, deputy party chair | In: James Cleverly, deputy party chair |
| James Cleverly has made no secret of his ambitions to go far in the Conservative party, openly saying he would love to be prime minister one day. | James Cleverly has made no secret of his ambitions to go far in the Conservative party, openly saying he would love to be prime minister one day. |
| “If I was wearing an England rugby shirt and someone tapped me on the shoulder and said: ‘Would you like to captain the team?’ of course you would bite their hand off. So, of course, in the same context if you’re passionate about politics and you want to make a difference and someone said: ‘Do you want to be prime minister?’ I think most of us would go: ‘Oh God, I’d love to do that,’” he said in an interview last year. | “If I was wearing an England rugby shirt and someone tapped me on the shoulder and said: ‘Would you like to captain the team?’ of course you would bite their hand off. So, of course, in the same context if you’re passionate about politics and you want to make a difference and someone said: ‘Do you want to be prime minister?’ I think most of us would go: ‘Oh God, I’d love to do that,’” he said in an interview last year. |
| The MP for Braintree was elected only in 2015 but has made quite a name for himself over the last two years as a fierce defender of the party with a vibrant social media account. | The MP for Braintree was elected only in 2015 but has made quite a name for himself over the last two years as a fierce defender of the party with a vibrant social media account. |
| A former London assembly leader for the Conservatives, he was a Brexit supporter at the referendum who subsequently backed Boris Johnson’s abortive leadership bid in 2016. | A former London assembly leader for the Conservatives, he was a Brexit supporter at the referendum who subsequently backed Boris Johnson’s abortive leadership bid in 2016. |
| However, he swiftly became an effective cheerleader for May’s government, with frequent media appearances and a prolific presence on Twitter. | However, he swiftly became an effective cheerleader for May’s government, with frequent media appearances and a prolific presence on Twitter. |
| His reputation for being a straight talker was cemented in 2015, when he admitted in a radio interview to having looked at online porn and dabbled in illegal drugs, and then took part in a game of “snog, marry, avoid”, choosing to avoid the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, marry Yvette Cooper and snog Theresa May. | His reputation for being a straight talker was cemented in 2015, when he admitted in a radio interview to having looked at online porn and dabbled in illegal drugs, and then took part in a game of “snog, marry, avoid”, choosing to avoid the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, marry Yvette Cooper and snog Theresa May. |
| Unafraid to wade into difficult subjects, Cleverly has also warned in public that the Conservatives should be concerned that significant numbers of black and minority ethnic voters do not see the party as one they can back. | Unafraid to wade into difficult subjects, Cleverly has also warned in public that the Conservatives should be concerned that significant numbers of black and minority ethnic voters do not see the party as one they can back. |
| Rowena Mason | Rowena Mason |
| Out: Patrick McLoughlin | Out: Patrick McLoughlin |
| The Conservative party chairman, whose cabinet seat comes via an official government role as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, McLoughlin had been seen as almost certain to go after the disastrous general election campaign followed by a misfiring party conference. | The Conservative party chairman, whose cabinet seat comes via an official government role as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, McLoughlin had been seen as almost certain to go after the disastrous general election campaign followed by a misfiring party conference. |
| McLoughlin was blamed – allies say unfairly – for overseeing security lapses such as a prankster gaining access to the conference hall in Manchester and handing Theresa May a fake P45 as she made her leader’s speech. | McLoughlin was blamed – allies say unfairly – for overseeing security lapses such as a prankster gaining access to the conference hall in Manchester and handing Theresa May a fake P45 as she made her leader’s speech. |
| He will nonetheless be one of the less noted cabinet departures, managing to keep a low public profile despite having been in parliament for more than 30 years, and on the frontbench for almost as long – McLoughlin’s first junior ministerial post was given to him by Margaret Thatcher in 1989. | He will nonetheless be one of the less noted cabinet departures, managing to keep a low public profile despite having been in parliament for more than 30 years, and on the frontbench for almost as long – McLoughlin’s first junior ministerial post was given to him by Margaret Thatcher in 1989. |
| However, the 60-year-old is by no means a traditional Conservative grandee. After attending a state school in Staffordshire and the local agricultural college, McLoughlin worked as a farm labourer and miner, also becoming a local councillor and then – aged just 28 – succeeding Matthew Parris as MP for West Derbyshire, now known as Derbyshire Dales, when Parris quit politics for journalism, prompting a byelection. | However, the 60-year-old is by no means a traditional Conservative grandee. After attending a state school in Staffordshire and the local agricultural college, McLoughlin worked as a farm labourer and miner, also becoming a local councillor and then – aged just 28 – succeeding Matthew Parris as MP for West Derbyshire, now known as Derbyshire Dales, when Parris quit politics for journalism, prompting a byelection. |
| A supporter of remain in the Brexit referendum, McLoughin spent many years in the whips’ office, finally gaining a cabinet job in 2012 at transport, where he battled controversies over rail franchises and HS2. | A supporter of remain in the Brexit referendum, McLoughin spent many years in the whips’ office, finally gaining a cabinet job in 2012 at transport, where he battled controversies over rail franchises and HS2. |
| Peter Walker | Peter Walker |
| Out: James Brokenshire | Out: James Brokenshire |
| The timing of James Brokenshire’s departure from his post as Northern Ireland secretary couldn’t be worse, coming just two days before the first anniversary of the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont. His resignation on health grounds was an early blow to Theresa May but it is also a setback for Northern Ireland, which is at yet another critical stage in its history. | The timing of James Brokenshire’s departure from his post as Northern Ireland secretary couldn’t be worse, coming just two days before the first anniversary of the collapse of power-sharing at Stormont. His resignation on health grounds was an early blow to Theresa May but it is also a setback for Northern Ireland, which is at yet another critical stage in its history. |
| Northern Ireland has in the past been seen as either a wilderness or a poisoned chalice for incomers to the office, but it is now one of the most critical posts in the cabinet, with the Irish border one of the trickiest issues in the second phase of Brexit talks. Brokenshire, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Sunday, was considered a stabilising force, carefully walking the thin political tightrope after his predecessor Theresa Villiers, whose open support for Brexit divided the remain-voting region. | Northern Ireland has in the past been seen as either a wilderness or a poisoned chalice for incomers to the office, but it is now one of the most critical posts in the cabinet, with the Irish border one of the trickiest issues in the second phase of Brexit talks. Brokenshire, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Sunday, was considered a stabilising force, carefully walking the thin political tightrope after his predecessor Theresa Villiers, whose open support for Brexit divided the remain-voting region. |
| An MP since 2005, he was a loyal supporter of Theresa May with whom he worked at the Home Office, and he was able to play a key role in keeping the Brexit talks intact after an 11th-hour intervention by the DUP threatened to scupper a deal last month. | An MP since 2005, he was a loyal supporter of Theresa May with whom he worked at the Home Office, and he was able to play a key role in keeping the Brexit talks intact after an 11th-hour intervention by the DUP threatened to scupper a deal last month. |
| He also had a good working relationship with Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney and his predecessor Charlie Flanagan. | He also had a good working relationship with Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney and his predecessor Charlie Flanagan. |
| Critics say the passing of one Stormont deadline after another showed Brokenshire’s lack of influence in talks, but the death of Martin McGuinness undoubtedly left a hole in leadership on the nationalist side, with Sinn Féin struggling to get its voice heard in Westminster at a time when the DUP’s confidence and supply agreement had put them in the corridors of power. | Critics say the passing of one Stormont deadline after another showed Brokenshire’s lack of influence in talks, but the death of Martin McGuinness undoubtedly left a hole in leadership on the nationalist side, with Sinn Féin struggling to get its voice heard in Westminster at a time when the DUP’s confidence and supply agreement had put them in the corridors of power. |
| After discovering a lesion on his right lung that requires surgery, Brokenshire said he would not be fit enough to give the energy that Northern Ireland requires. His successor faces huge challenges against the clock. | After discovering a lesion on his right lung that requires surgery, Brokenshire said he would not be fit enough to give the energy that Northern Ireland requires. His successor faces huge challenges against the clock. |
| Lisa O’Carroll | Lisa O’Carroll |