2006 British cabinet reshuffle

Last updated

Tony Blair Tony Blair in 2002.jpg
Tony Blair

Following poor results for the Labour Party in the local elections in England on 4 May 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a cabinet reshuffle the following day.

Contents

Changes

Secretary of State for the Home Department

John Reid moved from Defence to become the new Home Secretary, following Blair's decision to remove Charles Clarke from the position. Clarke refused the offer of other Cabinet positions and returned to the back benches. This was Reid's ninth cabinet position in nine years.

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Margaret Beckett, previously Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was promoted to become Britain's first ever female Foreign Secretary, replacing Jack Straw. Straw had held the prominent position from 2001 and was heavily involved in the War on terror. Straw's departure from his role as Foreign Secretary had not been widely predicted, but the move apparently came at his own request for a change following nearly a decade of service in front-line positions in the Cabinet, first as Home Secretary and then as Foreign Secretary [1] although others have argued that Straw was sacked for his growing allegiance with Gordon Brown and dismissal of military action against Iran. [2] Straw became Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and also took over responsibility for reform of the House of Lords and political party funding.

Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State

John Prescott remained as Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State, but was stripped of all the departmental ministerial responsibilities formerly associated with the office, apparently at his own request, following the revelation that he had an affair with his secretary. These responsibilities were taken over by Ruth Kelly under the new title of Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Leader of the House of Commons, Lords Reform and Party Funding

Jack Straw, formerly Foreign Secretary, took over the Leadership of the House of Commons and the sinecure office of Lord Privy Seal from Geoff Hoon (who became Minister of State for Europe). Responsibility for Reform of the House of Lords and political party funding was transferred from the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

Alistair Darling, formerly both the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Scotland, replaced Alan Johnson as the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Johnson was moved to become Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

Cabinet Office and Social Exclusion Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Hilary Armstrong moved from her former function as Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury to become Minister for the Cabinet Office and Minister for Social Exclusion. She also filled the traditional sinecure office of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which had been vacant since John Hutton was promoted to replace David Blunkett as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in November 2005.

Secretary of State for Education and Skills

Alan Johnson, formerly Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, became the new Secretary of State for Education and Skills. He replaced Ruth Kelly, who moved to the new office of Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Ruth Kelly, formerly Secretary of State for Education and Skills, became the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. This department took over some functions from the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry, especially connected with equality legislation, but the bulk of the department was made up of the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which was run by John Prescott before he lost his departmental responsibilities in the reshuffle, and also takes over the responsibilities of David Miliband, former Minister of State for Communities and Local Government.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

David Miliband moved from his position in the Cabinet as Minister of State for Communities and Local Government to become the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He replaced Margaret Beckett, who was promoted to become Foreign Secretary.

Secretary of State for Defence

Des Browne replaced John Reid as Secretary of State for Defence. He was previously Chief Secretary to the Treasury, another Cabinet position. Reid was promoted to become Home Secretary.

Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Scotland

The roles of Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Scotland were filled by Douglas Alexander. Both of these positions were formerly held by Alistair Darling, who became Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Minister without Portfolio and Party Chairman

Hazel Blears replaced Ian McCartney as Minister without Portfolio and Chairman of the Labour Party. McCartney was demoted to become Minister of State for Trade, attending the Cabinet, but not actively voting in it.

Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury

The positions of Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury were given to Jacqui Smith, replacing Hilary Armstrong. Smith was previously Minister of State for Schools in the Department for Education and Skills. Armstrong became Minister of State for the Cabinet Office and for "Social Exclusion", and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Stephen Timms was promoted to Cabinet rank to become the new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Des Browne. Timms had served in the Treasury twice before, in the more junior office of Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and was Minister for Pensions before the reshuffle. This was Timms' first Cabinet appointment.

Minister for Europe, attending Cabinet

Geoff Hoon, formerly Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, became the new Minister for Europe at the Foreign Office. Initial reports billed him as "Secretary of State for Europe", which may have been his understanding at the time he left Downing Street. [3] Although he continued to attend the Cabinet, he had lost his Cabinet vote, and his new position was a substantial demotion. [4]

Cabinet from 5 May 2006

Position(s)Minister
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service Rt Hon Tony Blair MPunchanged
Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State Rt Hon John Prescott MPunchanged
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon Gordon Brown MPunchanged
Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
Home Secretary Rt Hon John Reid MP
Secretary of State for Health Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MPunchanged
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MPunchanged
Minister for the Cabinet Office and for Social Exclusion and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Peter Hain MPunchanged
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council Rt Hon Baroness Amos unchanged
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor Rt Hon Lord Falconer of Thoroton QCunchanged
Secretary of State for International Development Rt Hon Hilary Benn MPunchanged
Secretary of State for Education and Skills Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Minister for Women Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Rt Hon John Hutton MPunchanged
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon Des Browne MP
Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Scotland Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP
Minister without Portfolio Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP
Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury)Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms MPto be sworn of the Privy Council
Also attending cabinet (but not voting)
Lords Chief Whip and Captain of the Gentlemen at Arms The Rt Hon Lord Grocott unchanged
Attorney general Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith QCunchanged
Minister of State for Europe (in the FCO)Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP
Minister of State for Trade (in the FCO and the DTI)Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP

Related Research Articles

A sinecure is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, where it signified a post without any responsibility for the "cure [care] of souls", the regular liturgical and pastoral functions of a cleric, but came to be applied to any post, secular or ecclesiastical, that involved little or no actual work. Sinecures have historically provided a potent tool for governments or monarchs to distribute patronage, while recipients are able to store up titles and easy salaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for Education</span> Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department for Culture, Media and Sport</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. Its main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Secretary to the Treasury</span> Junior minister in the British Treasury

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the chief secretary to the Treasury, and the paymaster general. However, the role of First Lord of the Treasury is always held by the prime minister who is not a Treasury minister, and the position of Paymaster General is a sinecure often held by the Minister for the Cabinet Office to allow the holder of that office to draw a government salary. In practice it is, therefore, the third most senior Treasury minister and has attended Cabinet in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat McFadden</span> British politician (born 1965)

Patrick Bosco McFadden is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 2005. McFadden has previously held various junior ministerial positions and shadow portfolios in his parliamentary career between 2005 and 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State (United Kingdom)</span> Member of the Cabinet of the UK government

His Majesty's principal secretaries of state, or secretaries of state, are senior ministers of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. Secretaries of state head most major government departments and make up the majority of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative government, 1957–1964</span>

The Conservative government of the United Kingdom that began in 1957 and ended in 1964 consisted of three ministries: the first Macmillan ministry, second Macmillan ministry, and then the Douglas-Home ministry. They were respectively led by Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who were appointed by Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown ministry</span> British government from 2007 to 2010

Gordon Brown formed the Brown ministry after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government following the resignation of the previous prime minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, on 27 June 2007. Brown formed his government over the course of the next day, with Jacqui Smith being appointed the United Kingdom's first female home secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband</span> Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015

Ed Miliband became Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition upon being elected to the former post on 25 September 2010. The election was triggered by Gordon Brown's resignation following the party's fall from power at the 2010 general election, which yielded a Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition. Miliband appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010, following the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet elections. These elections were the last such elections before they were abolished in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Secretary of State for Transport</span> Political post in the United Kingdom

The shadow secretary of state for transport is a political post in the United Kingdom. It has been consistently held by a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since May 1979. The shadow secretary helps hold the transport secretary and junior ministers to account and is the lead spokesperson on transport matters for their party. Should the relevant party take office, the shadow secretary would be a likely candidate to become the transport secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development</span> Shadow Cabinet office

The shadow cabinet minister for international development is the lead spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Official Opposition on issues related to international aid, most notably to the Third World. The shadow cabinet minister holds the minister of state for development and Africa to account in Parliament. The role previously had no counterpart in the Government between 2020 and 2022 after the Department for International Development (DFID) and the role of international development secretary was abolished by the second Johnson government in 2020. The position was renamed from shadow secretary of state for international development in November 2021 and placed under the shadow foreign secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair</span> Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997

Tony Blair was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from his election as Leader on 21 July 1994 until he became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997. Blair became leader upon the death of John Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn</span> UK shadow cabinet (2015–2020)

Jeremy Corbyn assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition after being elected as leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015; the election was triggered by Ed Miliband's resignation following the Labour Party's electoral defeat at the 2015 general election when David Cameron formed a majority Conservative government. The usual number of junior shadow ministers were also appointed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Blair ministry</span> 2001-2005 Government the United Kingdom

The second Blair ministry lasted from June 2001 to May 2005. Following the financial crisis in Japan at the end of the 1990s, there was a brief recession in other parts of the developed world including Germany, Italy and France in the early-2000s, but the UK avoided recession and continued to maintain a strong economy and low unemployment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Blair ministry</span> 2005-2007 Government the United Kingdom

The third Blair ministry lasted from May 2005 to June 2007. The election on 5 May 2005 saw Labour win a historic third successive term in power, though their majority now stood at 66 seats – compared to 167 four years earlier – and they failed to gain any new seats. Blair had already declared that the new term in parliament would be his last.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department for International Trade</span> Defunct department of the UK Government

The Department for International Trade (DIT) was a department of the United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to February 2023. It was responsible for striking and extending trade agreements between the United Kingdom and foreign countries, as well as for encouraging foreign investment and export trade.

The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow cabinet and other shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. From 2020 to 2024, His Majesty's Loyal Opposition was the Labour Party, and the Leader of the Opposition was Keir Starmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 British cabinet reshuffle</span>

On 27 July 1999, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held his first major cabinet reshuffle of his government.

References

Notes
  1. Oliver King (9 May 2006). "Clarke sacked in major cabinet reshuffle". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  2. "UK News, World News and Opinion". The Times. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  3. "The Times". Timesonline.co.uk. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.[ dead link ]
  4. Hinsliff, Gaby (6 May 2006). "The last throw of the dice". The Observer. London. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
Sources