Rishi Sunak has appointed his new Cabinet, bringing back names such as Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Suella Braverman as he attempts to build a government of “all the talents”.
Sunak took over as prime minister yesterday, following a four-day Conservative Party leadership race sparked when Liz Truss decided to step down on 20 October. When she left office, she had spent just 49 days as prime minister – the shortest term in UK history.
With the Cabinet changing so often, Trustnet rounded up the latest batch of appointments to remind you of who’s who.
Chancellor
Jeremy Hunt remains as chancellor. He is viewed as a steady hand by the market after he reversed most of the Truss administration’s mini-Budget.
Hunt is was brought in by Truss after she sacked Kwasi Kwateng from the post amid the market turmoil caused by his mini-Budget.
Deputy prime minister and justice secretary
Dominic Raab, a loyal Sunak supporter, has been appointed deputy prime minister and justice secretary – both of which are roles he held under Boris Johnson.
Raab replaces Thérèse Coffey, one of Truss’s closest allies, as deputy prime minister and Brandon Lewis as justice secretary, who resigned but said Sunak has his “support from the back benches”.
Chief whip
Simon Hart has been appointed chief whip, meaning he takes charge of party discipline and instructs Conservative MPs how they should vote on certain issues.
Hart replaces Wendy Morton, who was appointed to the post by Truss. Earlier this month, it was reported that Morton resigned during a chaotic Commons vote towards the end of Truss’s premiership, then un-resigned later in the evening; Truss then announced her own resignation the following day.
Foreign secretary
James Cleverly has been reappointed as foreign secretary, having held the post under Truss. He was the first Truss backer to be retained in their post by Sunak, as part of the prime minister’s efforts to promote unity in the Conservative Party after several divisive months.
Defence secretary
Ben Wallace has also been kept on as defence secretary, a role that he also held under the Johnson and Truss premierships. There are hints that he and Sunak are not completely aligned, as the prime minister has not publicly committed to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 – an important issue for Wallace.
Conservative Party chairman
Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed Conservative Party chairman. Zahawi was briefly named chancellor under Johnson after Sunak resigned, only to call on Johnson to resign just days after accepting the job.
He then supported Johnson in the most recent leadership race but switched his support to Sunak after Johnson dropped out.
Zahawi replaces Jake Berry.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Oliver Dowden, seen as one of Sunak's closest political allies, has been named Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. This means he becomes the prime minister’s watchdog inside the Cabinet Office, which supports the PM and the Cabinet while ensuring the effective running of government.
This role was previously held by Nadhim Zahawi, the new Conservative Party chairman.
Home secretary
Suella Braverman has been reappointed as home secretary, less than a week after she quit the post after breaching the ministerial code by sending classified documents from her personal email.
Her resignation letter included harsh criticisms of the Truss administration, saying she had “concerns about the direction of this government” – including its commitment to reducing immigration. Her appointment represents another attempt by Sunak to bring the moderate and right factions of the party together, and suggests he intends to take a tough stance on immigration.
Business and energy secretary
Grant Shapps has been appointed as business and energy secretary. He is a Sunak ally who served as transport secretary under Johnson and was brought in as home secretary to replace Braverman six days ago.
Shapps has replaced Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was the first to resign yesterday. Rees-Mogg has called Sunak a “socialist” in the past, but yesterday wished him “every success” and said: “I shall do all I can to support you.”
Commons leader
Penny Mordaunt remains the Commons leader. She stood against Sunak in the summer and October leadership races, stepping out of the most recent one at the last minute after failing to win the support of enough MPs.
It was speculated that she was hoping to land one of the main offices, but Commons leader is a relatively junior post.
Education secretary
Gillian Keegan has been named secretary of state for education. This is her first Cabinet position, and she is the fifth person to hold this role in just over a year, following the sacking of Gavin Williamson last September.
Kit Malthouse held this role most recently, after being handed it by Truss.
Work and pensions secretary
Mel Stride has been made work and pensions secretary. He ran Sunak’s campaign in the Conservative leadership contest over the summer and was one of the loudest voices calling for an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast to accompany the mini-Budget.
He replaces Chloe Smith, who was appointed by Truss.
Environment secretary
Key Truss ally Thérèse Coffey has been moved into the environment secretary post, having previously been health secretary.
She replaces Ranil Jayawardena, who was given the job under the Truss administration.
Health secretary
Steve Barclay has been appointed health secretary. He was previously Brexit secretary under Theresa May and was health secretary over the summer in Johnson's interim Cabinet.
He replaces Thérèse Coffey, who has become environment secretary.
Housing and communities secretary
Michael Gove has returned to government after being named housing and communities secretary, a post also known as ‘levelling-up secretary’. He held this role under Johnson, before being sacked for criticising Johnson’s leadership.
Simon Clarke held this post in the Truss government.
International trade secretary
Former leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch remains as international trade secretary, a post she was given under the Truss administration.
She is also minister for women and equalities.
Culture secretary
Loyal Sunak supporter Michelle Donelan has been kept on as secretary for digital, culture, media and sport.
Donelan was education secretary for two days in the Johnson government.
Northern Ireland secretary
Chris Heaton-Harris has been reappointed as Northern Ireland secretary, having been first given the job by Truss.
Scotland secretary
Alister Jack remains as Scotland secretary. He has held this role since July 2019.
Wales secretary
David TC Davies has been promoted to Wales secretary, having previously been the Wales minister since 2019. Davies replaces Robert Buckland.
Attorney general
Victoria Prentis takes up the role of attorney general. She was formerly a work and pensions minister. She replaces Michael Ellis.
Paymaster general
Jeremy Quin, a former home office minister, becomes paymaster general. He replaces Chris Philp, who only took up the post on 14 October.
Transport secretary
Mark Harper, a former whip, has replaced Anne-Marie Trevelyan as transport secretary.
Chief secretary to the Treasury
John Glen has become chief secretary to the Treasury, which is the second most senior post in the Treasury after the chancellor.
Glen replaces Edward Argar, who had only held the role since 14 October.
The following MPs will also attend Cabinet:
- Johnny Mercer MP appointed minister for veterans’ affairs
- Tom Tugendhat MBE MP re-appointed as minister for security
- Gavin Williamson as minister without portfolio
- Robert Jenrick as minister for immigration
- Andrew Mitchell as minister for development