Theresa’s reshuffle shambles
Health chief refuses new job as schools boss quits
THERESA May’s New Year reshuffle unravelled last night, dashing her hopes of putting 2017’s disasters behind her.
She had hoped to use a shakeup of her leadership team in order to stamp her authority on government.
But the plans were torpedoed when senior ministers refused to move. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Mrs May he would rather quit than accept a move to the business department, forcing her to back down.
And, following talks lasting more than two hours, the Prime Minister had to sack Justine Greening when she refused to move from education to work and pensions.
Whitehall sources said Mrs May had also ditched plans to axe her former leadership rival Andrea Leadsom as Commons Leader.
The reshuffle started shambolically when Conservative HQ wrongly tweeted that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling had been made party chairman.
Mrs May had already backed away from plans to shift Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Chancellor Philip Hammond for fear of destabilising her top team.
Her reshuffle, which was supposed to increase ‘diversity’, left the gender and ethnic make-up of the Cabinet unchanged and led to the departure of Britain’s first openly lesbian Cabinet minister, Miss Greening.
One senior Tory described the outcome as embarrassing, adding: ‘Far from asserting her authority, it’s just highlighted how weak she is.’
The reshuffle followed the sacking of Mrs May’s deputy, Damian Green, last month over sleaze allegations.
The Prime Minister appointed former justice secretary David Lidington as her new right-hand man. He will deputise at Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, but will not inherit Mr Green’s grand title of first secretary of state.
Former immigration minister Brandon Lewis and rising star James Cleverly were also appointed to the Tories’ campaign machine, while a string of young MPs were made party vice chairmen to revive the grassroots.
It was confirmed last night that David Mundell would remain in place as Secretary of State for Scotland, a post he has held since 2015.
Veteran party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin stepped down following criticism of his handling of last year’s disastrous snap election at which the Tories lost their majority. In other developments:
Former TV presenter Esther McVey enjoyed a meteoric promotion to Work and Pensions Secretary after Miss Greening turned down the job;
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire resigned on health grounds after revealing he needs surgery. He is replaced by former culture secretary Karen Bradley;
Mrs May faced a backlash from pro-abortion campaigners over her appointment as Tory vice chairman for women of former nurse Maria Caulfield, who once vowed to uphold ‘the rights of the unborn child’;
The Prime Minister sacked three male junior ministers, freeing up room to promote more women in a major shake-up of the junior ranks;
Former work and pensions secretary David Gauke became Justice Secretary;
Matt Hancock, a close ally of George Osborne, was promoted to the Cabinet as Culture Secretary;
Mr Hunt was handed responsibility for resolving the social care crisis on top of his duties at the NHS.
The Prime Minister will try to reassert her authority today with sweeping changes to the lower ministerial ranks. Female and ethnic minority MPs are expected to get promotion in an attempt to make the Government less ‘pale, male and stale’.