UK PM reshuffles cabinet
LONDON : There were no major surprises as Prime Minister Theresa May began tweaking her cabinet on Monday in a year that will see defining talks on UK leaving the European Union.
May, who had a difficult 2017 when she lost both the Conservative party’s majority in the general election and three cabinet ministers, hopes to give a fresh look to her team. Downing Street called it a “refresh of her ministerial team”, but key ministers responsible for Brexit talks – David Davis, Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond – remained unchanged in their posts.
Home secretary Amber Rudd too was retained.
There was speculation that two Indian-origin Conservative MPS, Rishi Sunak and Suella Fernandes, would be inducted as junior ministers to give wider representation to ethnic minorities. Both were first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2017.
MP Rehman Chisti, a former advisor to late Pakistan People’s Party leader Benzair Bhutto, was named one of nine new vicechairpersons of the ruling party. He shares the communities role with Helen Grant.
Britain is expected to leave the EU by March 29, 2019, which makes 2018 a crucial year to put in place several legislative and other measures, including norms for the post-brexit stay of 3 million EU citizens and about 1.5 million Britons in EU countries. Justice secretary David Lidlington was made Cabinet Office minister, a post held until recently by May’s confidante Damian Green, who was sacked following a row over his accessing porn on office computers.