Rudd makes her return to Cabinet
AMBER RUDD has returned to Theresa May’s Cabinet and pleaded with Tory rebels to back the Prime Minister and her Brexit deal.
The new Work and Pensions Secretary immediately began efforts to shore up Mrs May’s embattled position yesterday, telling Conservative MPs: “This is not a time for changing our leader.”
The Prime Minister’s critics believe they have the numbers required to trigger a confidence vote within days.
Mrs May also appointed Stephen Barclay as her new Brexit Secretary, but the role has been further downgraded as the Prime Minister will in future take sole control of negotiations on EU withdrawal.
Leave-supporting Mr Barclay’s job will be limited to the domestic delivery of EU withdrawal, preparations for Brexit either with or without a deal and shepherding legislation through Parliament.
He said: “We now need to keep up the momentum to finalise the withdrawal agreement and outline political declaration and deliver a Brexit that works for the whole UK.”
The reshuffle came just hours after Michael Gove offered the Prime Minister a lifeline by staying on in his Cabinet role.
Mr Gove reportedly turned down the Brexit Secretary post, saying he would only take it if he could renegotiate the EU withdrawal agreement.
Downing Street declined to say whether the role had been offered to anyone else before North-East Cambridgeshire MP Mr Barclay, saying only: “He was the Prime Minister’s choice for the job.”
The appointments followed the resignations of Dominic Raab and Esther McVey over the Brexit plan and came amid mounting expectation that the Prime Minister’s leadership will be put to a vote of MPs.
In her first act in her new job, Ms Rudd delivered a pointed message to her colleagues: “This is a time for pulling together, for making sure we remember who we are here to serve, who we are here to help: that’s the whole of the country.
“I worry sometimes colleagues are too concerned about the Westminster bubble rather than keeping their eye on what our job is – to serve people.”
Ms Rudd was a prominent Remain campaigner during the referendum and her return to the Cabinet, in place of Brexiteer Ms McVey who resigned on Thursday, may do little to bridge divides within the Tory ranks.
The rehabilitation of Ms Rudd, who quit as Home Secretary in April in a row over immigration targets, comes after a report found she had been let down by officials.
Mrs May’s position was bolstered by support from Brexiteer ministers Mr Gove and Liam Fox. But Brexit-supporting ministers led by Andrea Leadsom are reportedly set to work together on measures to make the deal more acceptable to them.
Labour indicated it would work with rebel Tories to block a no-deal Brexit if Mrs May’s EU withdrawal plan fails.