David Cameron’s cabinet met for the first time on Wednesday since the prime minister carried out a major reshuffle.
Among the changes, Jeremy Hunt became health secretary and Chris Grayling was promoted to justice secretary.
The new team also appeared beside Mr Cameron as he faced his first question-and-answer session in the Commons since MPs returned from their summer break. Meanwhile, the prime minister is continuing to finalise the appointment of junior government ministers. Tuesday’s reshuffle was the first large-scale restructuring of the coalition since it took power in 2010. Among those moved were chief whip Patrick McLoughlin, who took over as transport secretary, and Ken Clarke, who went from justice secretary to a roaming role within government, focusing particularly on economic policy.
Commons bow
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling will take a harder line than his predecessor Ken Clarke. And the new eurosceptic Environment Secretary Owen Patterson can be expected to resist EU regulations. But the prime minister would argue that his promotions owe more to practicalities than politics – that the government now consists of ministers who have a track record of delivering policies, rather than just dreaming them up. Liberal Democrat David Laws returned to government as an education minister, more than two years after quitting over his parliamentary expenses.
The reshuffle came amid criticism from many Conservative MPs that the coalition was not doing enough to restore economic growth in the face of the ongoing recession.Some expressed delight that Mr Cameron had promoted some on the right of the party, including Mr Grayling and Mr McLoughlin. But London Mayor Boris Johnson launched an outspoken attack over the removal of Transport Secretary Justine Greening to the international development brief.
He argued that the “only possible reason” was a planned U-turn on the Conservatives’ election promise not to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport, to which Ms Greening has said she would be opposed. Senior Liberal Democrat sources said that they will not allow the changes in personnel to lead to a rightwards shift in policy and that they will prevent a third runway from being built.
‘Strong reformers’
Altogether, there are six new figures in Mr Cameron’s cabinet: Mr Grayling, Mr McLoughlin, Conservative chairman Grant Shapps, Culture Secretary Maria Miller, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and Welsh Secretary David Jones. The changes in personnel have not affected key figures such as Chancellor George Osborne, Home Secretary Theresa May or Foreign Secretary William Hague – who all remain in their posts. Education Secretary Michael Gove and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will also stay in their jobs, with Downing Street saying it wanted these “strong reformers” to continue their work.
Those leaving the government in the shake-up include Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan and Commons leader Sir George Young. Below cabinet level, Solicitor General Edward Garnier, defence minister Gerald Howarth, prisons minister Crispin Blunt and children’s minister Tim Loughton have all been axed, while policing minister Nick Herbert has resigned after reportedly turning down a move to the Department for the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs.
Other Conservative appointments so far include:
Hugo Swire – Foreign Office minister
Damian Green – policing minister
Matthew Hancock – business and education minister
Michael Fallon – business minister
Daniel Poulter – health minister
Anna Soubry – health minister
Philip Dunne – defence minister
Helen Grant – justice minister
Jeremy Wright – justice minister
Stephen Hammond – transport minister
John Hayes – education minister
Elizabeth Truss – education minister
Esther McVey – work and pensions minister
