Smiling Suella, peeved Penny — pictures that say everything
Braverman returns as Home Secretary six days after being sacked ++ But was Mordaunt snubbed for top Cabinet job... or did she simply turn it down?
SUELLA Braverman returned as Home Secretary last night as Rishi Sunak tried to restore stability and Tory unity with the creation of his first Cabinet.
Six days after she was sacked from the Home Office over a breach of rules, Mrs Braverman was back as head of one of the four Great Offices of State.
Her appointment can be seen as a reward for bringing colleagues on the Right into Mr Sunak’s camp after she backed his leadership bid on Sunday. She replaced Grant Shapps, who was demoted to Business Secretary.
Mrs Braverman will now knuckle down at the Home Office with the Channel crisis still at the top of her in-tray. Mr Sunak has pledged to ‘do whatever it takes’ to get the Government’s asylum deal with Rwanda up and running as arrivals from northern France this year head towards 38,000.
She must also find a solution to the climate protests which have caused problems for commuters. Last week she blamed the ‘tofue-ating wokerati’ for opposing laws to crack down on groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.
Last night Mrs Braverman tweeted: ‘I am honoured to be appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as Home Secretary.
‘We will work hard to control our borders, maintain our security and keep our streets safe.’
Eager to reassure the markets, Mr Sunak kept Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor after he was brought in to stabilise the economy after Miss Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
He also retained James Cleverly as Foreign Secretary and Ben Wallace as Defence Secretary.
The reappointment of the two Boris Johnson loyalists should help appease those loyal to the former PM as well as ensure continuity in the Government’s approach to Ukraine.
But Mr Sunak’s leadership rival, Penny Mordaunt, was apparently snubbed for a top Cabinet job. She kept her previous post as Leader of the Commons.
Miss Mordaunt – who was tipped as a contender for foreign secretary – made no effort to hide her disappointment as she left Downing Street last night.
One report suggested there had been ‘fireworks’ in her meeting with Mr Sunak, but her allies insisted that she was ‘happy’ with her appointment – and that she had actually declined a promotion.
Dominic Raab, an ultra-loyalist to Mr Sunak, returned to the positions of Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary – roles he held under Mr Johnson before being sacked by Miss Truss.
Meanwhile Michael Gove – who led a rebellion against Miss Truss’s plans to cut the top rate of income tax – found himself unexpectedly back in Government as Levelling Up Secretary – a role he was dismissed from after telling Mr Johnson to quit.
Former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson also returned as a minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, as did the former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, back as development minister.
Both will attend Cabinet. Kemi Badenoch has been kept on as International Trade Secretary and will add the women and equalities brief. Steve Barclay, who supported both of Mr Sunak’s bids for the Tory leadership, became Health Secretary, returning to the job he lost under Miss Truss.
Fellow Sunak-loyalists Mel Stride and Oliver Dowden were rewarded with the respective roles of Work and Pensions Secretary and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Mark Harper was made Transport Secretary, Michelle Donelan is staying as Culture Secretary, Simon Hart was brought in as Chief Whip to restore party discipline, and Victoria Prentis was made Attorney General.
But Mr Sunak extended an olive branch to one of Miss Truss’s closest friends, Therese Coffey, who he demoted from deputy PM and health secretary but kept on as Environment Secretary. Chris
‘There had been fireworks’
‘It was nuts, and she has paid the price’
Heaton-Harris was kept on as Northern Ireland Secretary, Alister Jack was reappointed as Scotland Secretary, and David TC Davies was made Secretary of State for Wales.
Miss Mordaunt had been urged to pull out of the race and allow Mr Sunak a clean coronation on Sunday night after Boris Johnson threw in the towel, making it a two-horse race. But she carried on campaigning and only pulled out a few moments before the 2pm Monday deadline for making the ballot paper, when it became clear she wouldn’t clear the threshold of needing 100 MP backers.
A source on Mr Sunak’s campaign team said: ‘No one could understand what she was playing at. She could have cut a deal like Suella [Braverman] and probably could have named the Foreign Office as her price. ‘Instead she carried on trying to extend the contest long after it was clear the parliamentary party had made up its mind.
‘Even her own backers were telling her to pull out – it was nuts and she has paid the price.’
It is understood she was being urged not to throw in the towel by campaign manager Andrea Leadsom MP, who is said to still regret pulling out of the 2016 leadership race early. During the Tory leadership race earlier this summer, the Portsmouth North MP faced criticism for her ‘woke’ views.
But she then came under fire for an apparent change of stance after declaring that trans women – who she had previously said were women – were not. Her record in previous jobs has also been criticised, with several former bosses saying she was not across the details and a ‘part-timer’.
A No10 source said last night said the new Cabinet ‘brings the talents of the party together’.
‘It reflects a unified party and a cabinet with significant experience, ensuring that at this uncertain time there is continuity at the heart of government.
‘The hard work begins now and together, the Prime Minister’s new cabinet will deliver for the British people.’