British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak carried out the second cabinet reshuffle of his premiership on 13 November 2023. Suella Braverman was replaced as Home Secretary by James Cleverly. [1] Cleverly was replaced as Foreign Secretary by the former Prime Minister David Cameron, who was made a life peer as Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton. [2] [3]
Amid rising tensions the previous week, [4] Sunak sacked Suella Braverman from her position as Home Secretary on 13 November 2023. [5] She had previously been sacked from the same position by Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss in October 2022. [6] According to The Guardian , the trigger for her sacking was an article she wrote and published in The Times on 8 November 2023, [7] which included a statement that there was "a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters" and were tougher on rightwing extremists than pro-Palestinian "mobs". The Guardian reported that the Prime Minister's office had asked for changes to be made to the article, but not all were implemented. [8] She was replaced by the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. [9] [1]
With the foreign secretary's office falling vacant, party grandee Lord Hague reportedly negotiated a deal between Sunak and the former Prime Minister David Cameron that saw Cameron appointed Foreign Secretary. [10] [11] Since Cameron had resigned from parliament on 12 September 2016, [12] it was announced on the morning of the reshuffle that he would be appointed to a life peerage. [2] He is the first foreign secretary to serve from the House of Lords since Lord Carrington (1979–1982) and the first former prime minister to return to Cabinet since Alec Douglas-Home (1970–1974). [13] [6] Following the appointment of Cleverly as Home Secretary and Cameron as Foreign Secretary, all four Great Offices of State are held by men for the first time since 2010. [14]
The Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey announced that she had resigned after serving in the government since 2014 under five prime ministers. [15] [16] Coffey was replaced by the Health Secretary Steve Barclay, with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury Victoria Atkins being promoted to Health Secretary. [17]
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General Jeremy Quin stated that, despite being asked to continue to serve in government, he had resigned from his positions. [18] He was replaced by John Glen, with Laura Trott being promoted to Glen's former position as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. [3]
Richard Holden was appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio following Greg Hands' demotion to Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade. [19]
The backbencher Esther McVey was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office. [20]
| Colour key |
|---|
|
| Colour key |
|---|
|
Reactions to the reshuffle focused to a considerable extent on Cameron's "surprise" return to frontline politics. [39] The Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall asked the Works and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride about unemployment, saying "it turns out the government can get the over 50s back to work, just only if they are former prime ministers". [40] Addressing the House of Commons during the debate on the King's Speech, the Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting asked, "What kind of message does it send their constituents that their own party leader cannot find a suitable candidate for foreign secretary among the 350 Conservative MPs who sit in this House?" [41]
On Twitter, former Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated Cameron on his appointment as Foreign Secretary, adding that the experience he acquired during his tenure as Prime Minister "will be invaluable at this time of great uncertainty in our world". [42]
Following the cabinet reshuffle, Andrea Jenkyns submitted a public letter of no confidence in Rishi Sunak. [43]
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the Home Secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, making the home secretary one of the most senior and influential ministers in the government. The incumbent is a statutory member of the British Cabinet and National Security Council.
Grant Shapps is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from August 2023 to July 2024. Shapps previously served in various cabinet posts, including Conservative Party Co-Chairman, Transport Secretary, Home Secretary, Business Secretary, and Energy Secretary under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Welwyn Hatfield from 2005 to 2024. He failed to be re-elected as his constituency's MP in the 2024 general election.
The Great Offices of State are senior offices in the UK government. They are the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary or, alternatively, three of those offices excluding the prime minister.
James Spencer Cleverly TD VR is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has been Shadow Home Secretary since July 2024. He previously served as Home Secretary from November 2023 to July 2024 and as Foreign Secretary from 2022 to 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Braintree in Essex since 2015. He previously served as Education Secretary from July to September 2022, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot from 2019 to 2020, and in other junior ministerial positions.
Rishi Sunak is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. He has been Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022; after the general election in July 2024, he became Leader of the Opposition. The first British Asian to hold those offices, he previously held two Cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond and Northallerton, previously Richmond (Yorks), since 2015. He is the most recent Conservative Party prime minister.
Wendy Morton is a British Conservative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldridge-Brownhills since 2015. She served as Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from September to October 2022.
Lucy Claire Frazer is a British politician and barrister who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from February 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cambridgeshire from 2015 to 2024.
Sue-Ellen Cassiana "Suella" Braverman is a British politician and barrister who served as Home Secretary from 6 September 2022 to 19 October 2022, and again from 25 October 2022 to 13 November 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she was chair of the European Research Group from 2017 to 2018 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2020 to March 2021, and again from September 2021 to 2022. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fareham from 2015 until 2024 before the redrawing of UK constituency boundaries, and is currently the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville.
Sir Oliver James Dowden, is a British politician who has been Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since July 2024. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office from 2023 to 2024 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.
The European Research Group (ERG) is a research support group and caucus of Eurosceptic Conservative Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The journalist Sebastian Payne described it in the Financial Times as "the most influential [research group] in recent political history".
The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a government following the 2019 general election. The Conservative Party was returned to power with a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons. Initially the ministers were largely identical to those at the end of the first Johnson ministry, but changed significantly in cabinet reshuffles in February 2020 and September 2021.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2022.
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following a series of political controversies.
The Truss ministry began on 6 September 2022 when Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day after Truss was elected as his successor. The Truss ministry was formed from the 2019 Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative majority government.
The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis.
The Sunak ministry began on 25 October 2022 when Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Truss resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day after Sunak was elected unopposed as her successor. The Sunak ministry was formed from the 2019 Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative majority government. Sunak reshuffled his cabinet twice, first in February 2023 and later in November 2023.
Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 25 October 2022 when he accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss, and ended upon his resignation on 5 July 2024. He is the first British Indian and the first Hindu to hold the office. His premiership was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, the cost-of-living crisis, and the Rwanda asylum plan. As prime minister, Sunak also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for the Union and Leader of the Conservative Party.
The Conservative Democratic Organisation is a grouping within the British Conservative Party. It is widely believed to be aligned with Boris Johnson.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2023.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron served as foreign secretary from 2023 until 2024. As a member of Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, Cameron was appointed to the role during the November 2023 cabinet reshuffle. His tenure as Foreign Secretary was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Israel–Hamas war, and the Gaza–Israel conflict and humanitarian crisis. He visited 35 countries and territories during his tenure as Foreign Secretary, and was succeeded by David Lammy of the Labour Party.
