Britain’s foreign secretary quits
L N N A P — Britain’s William Hague announced his surprise resignation as foreign secretary on onday, as Conservative Prime inister avid Cameron overhauled his government to set the battle-lines for elections ne t year.
“Tonight, am standing down as foreign secretary after four years of serving as Leader of the House of Commons,” Hague, a former leader of the Conservative Party wrote on Twitter, also saying he would not run again for parliament in the ay 201 general election.
The reshuffle, much wider than e - pected, ousted roughly a dozen from the Cabinet, purging the government of several veterans and reflecting a shift to the right in the Conservative Party and a hardened stance toward the uropean nion.
The move is e pected to make way for younger politicians and more women, the first step of Cameron’s re- election campaign as he responds to pressure from the ascent of the eurosceptic K ndependence Party.
National broadcaster BBC reported that Hague, , could be replaced by current efense Secretary Philip Hammond, known for taking a tougher stance on urope.
Hammond has said he would vote for Britain to leave the unless a better membership deal is agreed, in a referendum Cameron has promised for 201 if he is re-elected.
The opposition Labor Party branded the reshuffle a “massacre of the moderates” and a retreat away from the uropean nion.
Conservative veteran Kenneth Clarke, whose vocal support of Britain’s membership of the uropean nion had made him increasingly at odds with many in his party, also announced his resignation as minister without portfolio.
nergy and Climate Change inister Gregory Barker, a modernizing figure associated with Cameron’s promise to run the “greenest government ever” when he took office in 2010, also stepped down in another sign of a turn to the right.
ther Conservatives to have lost their Cabinet obs were universities minister avid Willetts, international development minister Alan uncan, minister for the iddle ast Hugh obertson, leader of the House of Commons George oung and Northern reland inister Andrew obathan, according to the prime minister’s office.