David Gauke’s political rise and rise

David Gauke is seen as such a cool head in a crisis that Downing Street is encouraged to “uncork the Gauke” by deploying him to TV and radio studios to head off any trouble.

But his rise to the Cabinet ranks has not been achieved without controversy.

He caused the Government a major headache in 2012 with his views on cash-in-hand payments, telling The Daily Telegraph that

paying tradesmen in cash was “morally wrong”. Elected to the Hertfordshire South West seat in 2005, it emerged during the 2009 expenses investigation that he was claiming for his London flat despite his main home being an hour away from central London.

Mr Gauke served on the Treasury Select Committee in 2006 and 2007, before being invited to join the shadow Treasury, a role he kept when the party moved into government in 2010. He soon had a reputation for avoiding unforced errors.

He was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in May 2010 and Financial Secretary to the Treasury four years later. In June 2017, he was promoted to Work and Pensions Secretary, before being made Justice Secretary in January.