THERESA May has signalled her intention to lead the Tories into the next General Election – due in 2022 – as she cleared the decks for a Cabinet reshuffle in a bid to stamp her authority on her party.
Amid reports that as many as six senior ministers could be axed or moved, the Prime Minister said: “I’m not a quitter. I’m in this for the long term.”
Her reshuffle will begin today and is expected to continue into tomorrow with junior and middle-ranking ministerial appointments.
As MPs prepared to head back to Westminster following the Christmas break, May also acknowledged that her manifesto pledge to give them the opportunity to reverse the ban on hunting with hounds was one of the issues which cost the Tories votes at last June’s disastrous snap election when her Commons majority was wiped out.
May told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: “My own view hasn’t changed but as Prime Minister my job isn’t just about what I think about something, it’s actually about looking at what the view of the country is.
“I think there was a clear message about that and that’s why I say there won’t be a vote on fox-hunting during this parliament.”
Pressed on whether she would still be there the next time the country goes to the polls, May replied: “Obviously I serve as long as people want me to serve.”
The reshuffle is likely to represent the biggest overhaul of her top team since May appointed her first Cabinet on entering 10 Downing Street in 2016. May made only limited changes among her senior ministers following the June election, having seen her position badly weakened by the loss of her overall majority.
Now she has been forced to make changes to her top team following the resignation last month of Damian Green as first secretary of state – her de facto deputy – after he admitted lying about the alleged discovery of pornographic images on his Commons computer during a police raid.
Unlike the previous resignations of Sir Michael Fallon and Priti Patel when consequent changes were kept to a minimum, Green’s departure is expected to trigger a wider ministerial rejig. It is thought May’s most senior colleagues – including Chancellor Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Brexit Secretary David Davis – will stay in their current posts.
But Education Secretary Justine Greening, Tory Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin, Business Secretary Greg Clark and the Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom are among those reported to be at risk.
Downing Street sources tried to play down the reports, describing them as “speculation” and “guesswork”.
May could also try to bring forward some more junior ministers, with Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis and Justice Minister Dominic Raab among those tipped for promotion.
It is unclear, however, if she will announce a direct replacement for Green. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had been widely viewed as favourite for the post, although reports have suggested that she may be reluctant to move him in the midst of the NHS winter crisis.
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said: “If she promotes this Health Secretary tomorrow it’s a betrayal of those 75,000 people in the back of ambulances.”
The SNP has insisted there should be no rewards for failure in the reshuffle. The party’s health spokesperson at Westminster, Dr Philippa Whitford, said: “After the damage Jeremy Hunt has done to the NHS in England, it would be foolish for the Prime Minister to promote him to become her deputy. It would show utter contempt for the NHS.
“There’s only one place he should be reshuffled – and that’s out of the health brief and straight to the back benches, where he can do no further harm to public services.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel