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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Cabinet reshuffle: who has moved so far? | Cabinet reshuffle: who has moved so far? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Jeremy Hunt | |
| Was: Culture secretary | |
| Is: Health secretary | |
| Hunt has had a mixed year following near-scandal over his handling the handling of Rupert Murdoch's bid for control of BSkyB, and the national celebration of the Olympics and Paralympic games | |
| • A contemporary of David Cameron and London mayor Boris Johnson at Oxford University, where he got a first in PPE | |
| • Hunt survived weeks of high pressure over his job after it emerged his aide was in close contact with Murdoch's News Corporation throughout the BSkyB bid – during which time he became one of the few people allowed by the Speaker to be called a "liar" in parliament | |
| • Hunt made himself a millionaire by setting up educational publisher Hotcourses, but had to repay nearly £2,000 in expenses for his constituency home claimed while he was living in central London | |
| • The father of two is (distantly) related to British fascist party founder Oswald Mosley and the Queen | |
| • He is a keen dancer of the South American zouk-lambada, and has a ballroom at his Surrey home to practise | |
| Chris Grayling | Chris Grayling |
| Was: Employment minister | Was: Employment minister |
| Is: Justice secretary | Is: Justice secretary |
| Grayling's demotion from shadow home secretary to employment minister was probably the biggest demotion after the general election, but he is seen as having made a great success of the job | Grayling's demotion from shadow home secretary to employment minister was probably the biggest demotion after the general election, but he is seen as having made a great success of the job |
| • Despite being a former member of the Social Democratic party, which later merged with the Liberal party to form the Liberal Democrats, Grayling is seen as a strong voice on the right of the Tories | • Despite being a former member of the Social Democratic party, which later merged with the Liberal party to form the Liberal Democrats, Grayling is seen as a strong voice on the right of the Tories |
| • After becoming an MP in 2001, Grayling earned a reputation as an attack dog for his challenging of two Labour secretaries of state who later resigned: David Blunkett and Stephen Byers | • After becoming an MP in 2001, Grayling earned a reputation as an attack dog for his challenging of two Labour secretaries of state who later resigned: David Blunkett and Stephen Byers |
| • Grayling's fall after the election was blamed on a controversy in the weeks before voting when a recording emerged of him saying that Christian owners of bed and breakfasts should be allowed to prevent gay couples from staying in their homes | • Grayling's fall after the election was blamed on a controversy in the weeks before voting when a recording emerged of him saying that Christian owners of bed and breakfasts should be allowed to prevent gay couples from staying in their homes |
| • After the election is he also said to have riled Cameron by being very blunt with him about why the party didn't win a majority | • After the election is he also said to have riled Cameron by being very blunt with him about why the party didn't win a majority |
| • He was known as Chris "Graything" at Cambridge, where he studied history | • He was known as Chris "Graything" at Cambridge, where he studied history |
| Ken Clarke | Ken Clarke |
| Was: Justice secretary | Was: Justice secretary |
| Is: Minister without portfolio | |
| Clarke, 72, has served on every Conservative government front bench since Ted Heath was prime minister in 1972, and is currently Lord Chancellor and secretary of state for justice. | Clarke, 72, has served on every Conservative government front bench since Ted Heath was prime minister in 1972, and is currently Lord Chancellor and secretary of state for justice. |
| • Has held two of the four great offices of state: chancellor and home secretary | • Has held two of the four great offices of state: chancellor and home secretary |
| • The Tory party website boasts that when Clarke was chancellor from 1993-1997 "Britain recovered from recession and was set on a course of economic growth with low inflation … the budget deficit was halved and interest rates and unemployment fell." | • The Tory party website boasts that when Clarke was chancellor from 1993-1997 "Britain recovered from recession and was set on a course of economic growth with low inflation … the budget deficit was halved and interest rates and unemployment fell." |
| • Easily the most leftwing member of the current cabinet; if he left there is a danger the prime minister would take up that position | • Easily the most leftwing member of the current cabinet; if he left there is a danger the prime minister would take up that position |
| • The brown suede shoe-wearing former barrister and QC famously stayed in B&Bs with his wife Gillian during party conferences, creating the image of a man of the people | • The brown suede shoe-wearing former barrister and QC famously stayed in B&Bs with his wife Gillian during party conferences, creating the image of a man of the people |
| • One of the few politicians who might be as well known for his hobbies as his career: jazz, birdwatching and motor racing | • One of the few politicians who might be as well known for his hobbies as his career: jazz, birdwatching and motor racing |
| Lady Warsi | Lady Warsi |
| Was: Conservative party chairman | Was: Conservative party chairman |
| Is: TBC | Is: TBC |
| Sayeeda Warsi was appointed co-chairman of the Conservative party with Lord Feldman and a minister without portfolio in the coalition cabinet in May 2010. She was demoted from her position as co-chair of the party in the September 2012 reshuffle and offered a position at the Foreign Office with a seat in the cabinet | Sayeeda Warsi was appointed co-chairman of the Conservative party with Lord Feldman and a minister without portfolio in the coalition cabinet in May 2010. She was demoted from her position as co-chair of the party in the September 2012 reshuffle and offered a position at the Foreign Office with a seat in the cabinet |
| • Warsi was the first female Muslim to serve as a minister in the UK. | • Warsi was the first female Muslim to serve as a minister in the UK. |
| • She has never won an election, having lost her only attempt to win a seat in the Commons, standing for Dewsbury at the 2005 election when she was the first Muslim woman to be selected by the Conservatives. She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2007. | • She has never won an election, having lost her only attempt to win a seat in the Commons, standing for Dewsbury at the 2005 election when she was the first Muslim woman to be selected by the Conservatives. She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2007. |
| • Warsi has never been far from controversy. She was accused of pandering to the BNP in 2007 when she said immigration had been out of control and was making people "uneasy". But she strongly criticised the BNP when she appeared opposite party leader Nick Griffin on a controversial edition of Question Time in 2009. And last year she warned that Islamophobia has "passed the dinner-table test" and become widely socially acceptable in Britain. | • Warsi has never been far from controversy. She was accused of pandering to the BNP in 2007 when she said immigration had been out of control and was making people "uneasy". But she strongly criticised the BNP when she appeared opposite party leader Nick Griffin on a controversial edition of Question Time in 2009. And last year she warned that Islamophobia has "passed the dinner-table test" and become widely socially acceptable in Britain. |
| • In February this year, Warsi warned that Britain is under threat from a rising tide of "militant secularisation", writing in the Daily Telegraph: "You cannot and should not extract these Christian foundations from the evolution of our nations any more than you can or should erase the spires from our landscapes." | • In February this year, Warsi warned that Britain is under threat from a rising tide of "militant secularisation", writing in the Daily Telegraph: "You cannot and should not extract these Christian foundations from the evolution of our nations any more than you can or should erase the spires from our landscapes." |
| • Warsi was found guilty of a "minor" breach of the ministerial code in June this year after failing to give a full account to officials of her family links to a businessman who accompanied her on an official visit to Pakistan. The independent adviser on ministerial interests indicated that no action should be taken against Warsi and David Cameron issued a statement of support, describing her as "a great asset". | • Warsi was found guilty of a "minor" breach of the ministerial code in June this year after failing to give a full account to officials of her family links to a businessman who accompanied her on an official visit to Pakistan. The independent adviser on ministerial interests indicated that no action should be taken against Warsi and David Cameron issued a statement of support, describing her as "a great asset". |
| Andrew Mitchell | Andrew Mitchell |
| Was: International development secretary | Was: International development secretary |
| Is: Conservative chief whip | Is: Conservative chief whip |
| As secretary of state for international development, Mitchell could boast that his department is the only one not to suffer a budget cut, though he has been tough in axing aid to richer nations such as Russia and China. He has been now been appointed chief whip in the Commons. | As secretary of state for international development, Mitchell could boast that his department is the only one not to suffer a budget cut, though he has been tough in axing aid to richer nations such as Russia and China. He has been now been appointed chief whip in the Commons. |
| • The son of a former Tory MP lost his original seat, Gedling in Nottinghamshire, in the 1997 Labour landslide, returning to parliament in 2001 as MP for Sutton Coldfield | • The son of a former Tory MP lost his original seat, Gedling in Nottinghamshire, in the 1997 Labour landslide, returning to parliament in 2001 as MP for Sutton Coldfield |
| • He ran the unsuccessful leadership campaign for David Davis, which the rightwing MP lost to David Cameron in 2005 | • He ran the unsuccessful leadership campaign for David Davis, which the rightwing MP lost to David Cameron in 2005 |
| • During that campaign he struck up an unlikely friendship with Cameron's campaign manager, George Osborne | • During that campaign he struck up an unlikely friendship with Cameron's campaign manager, George Osborne |
| • Mitchell, 56, served with the Army's Royal Tank Regiment and spent time as a UN Peacekeeper in Cyprus | • Mitchell, 56, served with the Army's Royal Tank Regiment and spent time as a UN Peacekeeper in Cyprus |
| • The Cambridge graduate was one of 186 MPs who voted for the restoration of the death penalty in 1994; 383 MPs voted against | • The Cambridge graduate was one of 186 MPs who voted for the restoration of the death penalty in 1994; 383 MPs voted against |
| Caroline Spelman | Caroline Spelman |
| Was: Environment secretary | Was: Environment secretary |
| Is: TBC | Is: TBC |
| As environment secretary Spelman has presided over one of the government's most humiliating U-turns over the proposed sale of national forests. With a Lib Dem at the other key environment department – energy and climate change – Spelman has also fielded much flak over the coalition's failure to deliver on Cameron's lofty promise to be the "greenest government ever". As one commentator noted before her departure was announced, the only thing helping her cling to the seat was that she was Mrs Spelman, not Mr | As environment secretary Spelman has presided over one of the government's most humiliating U-turns over the proposed sale of national forests. With a Lib Dem at the other key environment department – energy and climate change – Spelman has also fielded much flak over the coalition's failure to deliver on Cameron's lofty promise to be the "greenest government ever". As one commentator noted before her departure was announced, the only thing helping her cling to the seat was that she was Mrs Spelman, not Mr |
| Cheryl Gillan | Cheryl Gillan |
| Was: Welsh secretary | Was: Welsh secretary |
| Is: TBC | Is: TBC |
| Gillan began to pen her own resignation letter after she made it clear she would be prepared to leave government to fight plans for the High Speed 2 railway to go through her constituency of Chesham and Amersham; reshuffling her out of the cabinet avoids either an embarrassing exit when the final plans are published next year, or more expensive concessions to Gillan and other opponents. Without an opportunity to shine politically, and as she is not a Welsh MP, Gillan was an easy target to create a space | Gillan began to pen her own resignation letter after she made it clear she would be prepared to leave government to fight plans for the High Speed 2 railway to go through her constituency of Chesham and Amersham; reshuffling her out of the cabinet avoids either an embarrassing exit when the final plans are published next year, or more expensive concessions to Gillan and other opponents. Without an opportunity to shine politically, and as she is not a Welsh MP, Gillan was an easy target to create a space |
| David Jones | |
| Was: second minister in the Welsh office | |
| Is: Welsh secretary | |
| David Jones, MP for Clywd West, replaces Cheryl Gillian as Welsh secretary after being promoted from the position of Wales office minister, which he held from 2010. He is not a particularly well-known name outside of Westminister but there had been pressure from Conservatives for Gillian's replacement to be an MP holding a Welsh seat | |
| • Jones was a member of the Welsh Assembly, representing north Wales, between 2002 and 2003 | |
| • He was elected to parliament in 2005, his third attempt, having previously contested Conwy in 1997 and the city of Chester in 2001 | |
| • Jones describes his political interests as the environment, law and order and constitutional affairs | |
| • In his maiden speech in the Commons, Jones bemoaned the fact that residents' representations on windfarms were "largely irrelevant" under the current planning regime. He also complained that his constituents had "suffered ... at the government's hands through the ban on fox hunting" | |
| • Jones is an active blogger and writes one of the most popular political blogs in Wales |