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| With Eye on Election, British Premier Shuffles Cabinet | With Eye on Election, British Premier Shuffles Cabinet |
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| LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain shook up his government on Tuesday in an effort to present a fresher, less abrasive and more diverse face to voters with the next general election just 10 months away. | |
| Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party is heading into the election campaign facing an array of challenges. Opinion polls suggest that the election will be close and unpredictable. Apparently with that in mind, Mr. Cameron revamped his cabinet more thoroughly than expected on Tuesday, dismissing or moving several prominent men and promoting a number of women. | Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party is heading into the election campaign facing an array of challenges. Opinion polls suggest that the election will be close and unpredictable. Apparently with that in mind, Mr. Cameron revamped his cabinet more thoroughly than expected on Tuesday, dismissing or moving several prominent men and promoting a number of women. |
| Mr. Cameron shifted one of his most divisive colleagues — the education secretary, Michael Gove — to a less prominent role. A politician who sometimes seemed to revel in being a pain to teachers’ unions will move to a post in the House of Commons with responsibility for the discipline of Conservative lawmakers, part of what analysts said was a concerted effort to soften the party’s image. | Mr. Cameron shifted one of his most divisive colleagues — the education secretary, Michael Gove — to a less prominent role. A politician who sometimes seemed to revel in being a pain to teachers’ unions will move to a post in the House of Commons with responsibility for the discipline of Conservative lawmakers, part of what analysts said was a concerted effort to soften the party’s image. |
| By contrast, Mr. Cameron sent a tougher message on relations with the European Union by appointing Philip Hammond as foreign secretary. Mr. Hammond has said he would vote to leave the bloc if Britain could not negotiate better membership terms. | By contrast, Mr. Cameron sent a tougher message on relations with the European Union by appointing Philip Hammond as foreign secretary. Mr. Hammond has said he would vote to leave the bloc if Britain could not negotiate better membership terms. |
| The British economy has rebounded recently after years of recession and austerity, but opinion polls suggest that many voters still feel worse off than before the financial crisis. Most polls now show the Conservatives running only slightly behind the opposition Labour Party, giving Mr. Cameron reason to hope that he can still win another term. He is governing now in a coalition with the centrist Liberal Democrats. | The British economy has rebounded recently after years of recession and austerity, but opinion polls suggest that many voters still feel worse off than before the financial crisis. Most polls now show the Conservatives running only slightly behind the opposition Labour Party, giving Mr. Cameron reason to hope that he can still win another term. He is governing now in a coalition with the centrist Liberal Democrats. |
| Mr. Cameron kept George Osborne as chancellor of the Exchequer, with the central task of managing the economy, but elsewhere in his cabinet he freshened the faces — if not the policies — of a government that Labour says is led by millionaires out of touch with ordinary Britons. | Mr. Cameron kept George Osborne as chancellor of the Exchequer, with the central task of managing the economy, but elsewhere in his cabinet he freshened the faces — if not the policies — of a government that Labour says is led by millionaires out of touch with ordinary Britons. |
| Mr. Cameron began trying to redress that perception this year when he filled a senior ministerial vacancy by appointing Sajid Javid, the son of an immigrant bus driver. On Tuesday, he appeared to stay on that path. | Mr. Cameron began trying to redress that perception this year when he filled a senior ministerial vacancy by appointing Sajid Javid, the son of an immigrant bus driver. On Tuesday, he appeared to stay on that path. |
| “In order to demonstrate a more friendly and modern Conservative face, Cameron has brought more women, regional accents and ethnic minorities into the cabinet, giving the impression the Conservative front-bench is more in touch with ordinary voters, and not the elites that are the Conservatives’ oft-assumed natural constituency,” Mujtaba Rahman wrote in an analysis for Eurasia Group, a consulting firm. | “In order to demonstrate a more friendly and modern Conservative face, Cameron has brought more women, regional accents and ethnic minorities into the cabinet, giving the impression the Conservative front-bench is more in touch with ordinary voters, and not the elites that are the Conservatives’ oft-assumed natural constituency,” Mujtaba Rahman wrote in an analysis for Eurasia Group, a consulting firm. |
| Nicky Morgan, a Treasury minister, will be promoted to education secretary to replace Mr. Gove, who is becoming the Conservative party’s chief whip, responsible for keeping its ranks together in the House of Commons. | Nicky Morgan, a Treasury minister, will be promoted to education secretary to replace Mr. Gove, who is becoming the Conservative party’s chief whip, responsible for keeping its ranks together in the House of Commons. |
| Charles Lewington, a former director of communications for the Conservative Party, wrote in a blog commentary that Mr. Gove’s move was “a triumph for the pollsters,” who argued that his combative style was “deterring women voters,” who appear in polls to be drifting to Labour. | Charles Lewington, a former director of communications for the Conservative Party, wrote in a blog commentary that Mr. Gove’s move was “a triumph for the pollsters,” who argued that his combative style was “deterring women voters,” who appear in polls to be drifting to Labour. |
| On European policy, Mr. Cameron has felt growing pressure from the right, especially from the United Kingdom Independence Party, which wants Britain to quit the European Union. Mr. Cameron has steadily hardened his position in response, promising last year that if he were re-elected he would renegotiate Britain’s membership in the union and then hold a referendum on it in 2017. | On European policy, Mr. Cameron has felt growing pressure from the right, especially from the United Kingdom Independence Party, which wants Britain to quit the European Union. Mr. Cameron has steadily hardened his position in response, promising last year that if he were re-elected he would renegotiate Britain’s membership in the union and then hold a referendum on it in 2017. |
| Mr. Lewington wrote that in Mr. Hammond, Britain would have a foreign secretary “who is prepared to say we should quit the European Union if we don’t get the concessions we want.” Mr. Hammond succeeds William Hague, a former party leader who is thought to have slightly softened his position on Europe. Mr. Hague will retain a lower-profile cabinet post until next year and then retire. | Mr. Lewington wrote that in Mr. Hammond, Britain would have a foreign secretary “who is prepared to say we should quit the European Union if we don’t get the concessions we want.” Mr. Hammond succeeds William Hague, a former party leader who is thought to have slightly softened his position on Europe. Mr. Hague will retain a lower-profile cabinet post until next year and then retire. |
| Another veteran, Kenneth Clarke, a minister without portfolio, is departing in the shake-up. His positive views on the European Union may have prevented him from leading the party. | Another veteran, Kenneth Clarke, a minister without portfolio, is departing in the shake-up. His positive views on the European Union may have prevented him from leading the party. |
| Britain’s nominee for a seat on the European Commission, the union’s executive body, is Jonathan Hill, a low-profile politician who has been the leader of the House of Lords. His appointment was something of a surprise; when a Conservative website asked him in June about the possibility, he replied with a brief burst of French: “Non, non, non.” | Britain’s nominee for a seat on the European Commission, the union’s executive body, is Jonathan Hill, a low-profile politician who has been the leader of the House of Lords. His appointment was something of a surprise; when a Conservative website asked him in June about the possibility, he replied with a brief burst of French: “Non, non, non.” |