Theresa May names first cabinet
The new prime minister has been filling posts in her first cabinet and, significantly, has placed Brexit-backing MPs in positions that will be central to the EU withdrawal negotiations. Boris Johnson is the new foreign secretary, David Davis is the Brexit minister and Liam Fox’s career has seen a remarkable revival with his appointment as international trade secretary.
May has not been reluctant to remove big beasts from their jobs. Michael Gove was sacked, as were George Osborne, Oliver Letwin and Nicky Morgan, among others.
She also gave jobs to her former leadership rival Andrea Leadsom and one of her earliest backers Chris Grayling.
There was speculation that May would appoint more women and, while the numbers are more representative than under David Cameron, they are still disproportionate. The same goes for the ratio of state to privately educated cabinet ministers.
This live blog is now closing but you can read the list of appointments as we have it.
We are not expecting any further ministerial appointments this evening but it is worth reading Joan Smith’s article on Theresa May’s cabinet selections so far.
While she has promoted women, Smith writes, May is a Tory first and a feminist second.
We have a final ministerial appointment of the day. Ben Gummer, formerly a junior health minister (and the son of Thatcher and Major era cabinet member John Gummer) is now minister for the Cabinet Office, Downing Street has announced.
“There will be no further ministerial appointments this evening,” the statement adds. There are, of course, a whole series of junior posts still to fill or shuffle.
Theresa May’s official spokeswoman said today’s appointments revealed a “bold” cabinet, and “what we’re seeing is the commitment of the prime minister to putting social reform at the heart of her government.”
Barack Obama has already called May to congratulate her, the spokeswoman also revealed. The pair spoke for 15 minutes, during which they discussed security cooperation, and she “underlined the point that the decision to leave the European Union means that”.
It remains unclear whether May actually used what has already become her catchphrase: “Brexit means Brexit”.
With Labour’s leadership so far silent on the ministerial changes, the SNP’s Westminster Leader, Angus Robertson, has called it “one of the most right-wing cabinets in the modern era”. He said in a statement:
From Boris Johnson as our foreign secretary – a man who will now be representing us on the world stage – to David Davis as Brexit minister and Liam Fox for trade, it will be Brexiteers who are taking forward UK foreign policy.
We also have Jeremy Hunt being re-appointed as health secretary, despite the ongoing disputes with junior doctors, and Priti Patel as minister for international sevelopment, despite previously calling for the department to be abolished.
The news that the department for energy and climate change is being merged with business, innovation and skills, is also particularly worrying given the current challenges facing the energy sector.
Green campaigners were divided over the likely impact of the abolition of the department of energy and climate change, with some saying that folding its responsibilities into the new department for business, energy and industrial strategy would downgrade the importance of climate change and take ministerial attention away from the issue for the next parliament.
Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said he was “shocked” by the move.
“Less than a day into the job and it appears that the new prime minister has already downgraded action to tackle climate change, one of the biggest threats we face. This week the government’s own advisors warned of ever growing risks to our businesses, homes and food if we don’t do more to cut fossil fuel pollution.
“If Theresa May supports strong action on climate change, as she’s previously said, it’s essential that this is made a top priority for the new business and energy department and across government.”
But WWF struck a more conciliatory note. “The new department for business, energy, and industrial strategy can be a real powerhouse for change, joining up Whitehall teams to progress the resilient, sustainable, and low carbon infrastructure that we urgently need,” said David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK.
“Climate change must be hard-wired into the new department of business, energy and industrial strategy and our economy need climate change to be at its very heart.”
However, critics were concerned that the loss of the term climate change in the new department’s title was a signal of the lack of importance the new cabinet and prime minister placed on the issue.
John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, said: “Although, some might say, ‘What’s in a name?’ there is a very real worry that the progress made on tackling climate change could be relegated to the bottom of the in tray. Business, energy and industrial strategy must have green innovation and job creation at its heart.”
This is Peter Walker, taking over from Andrew for a bit. My colleague Rowena Mason has made this tally of the gender split of the cabinet as it appears so far. She also calculates that five of 23 cabinet ministers were privately educated, fewer than in David Cameron’s cabinet, but still a proportion three times above the 7% figure for the country as a whole.
Final tally 8 women out of 23 in cabinet including the PM (34%) - slightly higher than Cameron's 7/ 22 (but not really a march of the women)
— Rowena Mason (@rowenamason) July 14, 2016
Summary
- Theresa May has virtually finished appointing her first cabinet. As I write, the full list has not yet been published, but all the key appointments are known. See here. The reshuffle has gone much further than expected. I was going to write a “what we’ve learnt” analysis, but it is hard to improve on the eight points identified by Robert Peston. (See 4.46pm.) The last 24 hours have revealed aspects of May’s character that were perhaps under-appreciated. She has proved more ruthless than people expected, sacking senior figures who are well regarded by some Tories, like George Osborne and Michael Gove, without compunction. And she has shown more willingness to take risks than people would have predicted, appointing Boris Johnson to the Foreign Office, but also putting some very inexperienced people (like Gavin Williamson and Natalie Evans) into senior roles. The new cabinet looks less public school and more meritocratic than the last one. It also looks more rightwing, although that may be a consequence of the need to appoint Brexiteers, and the overlap that seems to exist between strong Euroscepticism and low tax, low regulation Toryism.
That’s all from me. My colleague Peter Walker is taking over now.
Updated
David Lidington appointed leader of the Commons
David Lidington has become leader of the Commons and lord president of the council, Number 10 has announced. He was Europe minister.
David Gauke appointed chief secretary to the Treasury
David Gauke, who was financial secretary to the Treasury, has been made chief secretary to the Treasury, Sky reports.
David Gauke MP appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury
— Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) July 14, 2016
Updated
David Mundell is staying as Scottish secretary
David Mundell is staying as Scottish secretary, Number 10 has confirmed.
Mark Harper, former chief whip, is leaving government
Mark Harper, who until today was chief whip, has announced he is leaving the government.
I have decided to leave the Government & return to the backbenches. I’ll
— Mark Harper MP (@Mark_J_Harper) July 14, 2016
continue to loyally support HMG & @theresa_may as our new PM
Robert Peston’s “eight things we’ve learned about Theresa May in the last 48 hours” take on the reshuffle is very good.
Updated
Hollande urges May to start Brexit as soon as possible
The French president, François Hollande, has repeated his call for Theresa May to begin Britain’s exit from the European Union as fast as possible.
“The sooner Mrs May actions Britain’s exit from the EU, the better the future relationship between the EU and the UK will be,” he said in his traditional Bastille Day TV appearance.
Hollande added that he had told May by phone, “with all the necessary courtesy” that Britain must act fast to end the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, saying he didn’t want it to have consequences for the fragile French economy.
But Hollande was firm on the terms of negotiation: “We have to be clear. The UK cannot have outside [the EU] what it had inside.”
Hollande declined to comment on the appointment of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary, but the French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned earlier today that Johnson had “told a lot of lies to the British people”.
Updated
Andrea Leadsom on farming subsidies
Here is more on what Andrea Leadsom, the new environment secretary, thinks about farming subsidies. This is what she said in a Guardian debate on the EU referendum in March.
Net we send £9bn a year to the EU, gross it’s £19bn; the remainder we get back in subsidies are things we have to beg for, things we have to co-finance, pet projects of the EU so farmers - yes, they are supplicants asking for roughly 50% back of the money that they paid over in the first place.
On voting to leave the EU, the UK government will absolutely continue in the short term to provide those subsidies whilst we think about what makes sense. And some of the things that would make sense would be environmental trading credits, because at the moment you have farmers who have to do a bit of environmental planning and a bit of farming just to meet the EU requirements.
It would make so much more sense if those with the big fields do the sheep, and those with the hill farms do the butterflies. That would make a lot more sense for the UK and it’s perfectly possible but only if we leave the EU and sort it out for ourselves.
Keen-eyed readers will note this *absolutely* does not guarantee farming subsidies will continue in the long term
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) July 14, 2016
Challenges for Andrea Leadsom at Defra
Andrea Leadsom has been handed a hospital pass with the role of environment secretary, and not just because it is viewed as one of the less prestigious jobs in the cabinet. Farmers today get £2.4-3bn a year from the EU in subsidies – the amount varies on exchange rates – through the common agricultural policy (CAP).
Whatever British agricultural policy (BAP?) comes next – and the National Farmers Union is already canvassing views on which this should look like – Leadsom will have the thankless task of lobbying the Treasury to replace those subsidies. They’re essential to prop up farmers, as the CAP payments made up 55% of an average farmers’ income of around £20,000 in 2014.
Controversially, and perhaps worryingly for farmers, Leadsom also appears to have argued in the past for the end of farming subsidies. “Subsidies must be abolished,” she wrote in a 2007 article on how to rejuvenate British farming.
The former energy minister also faces a fight in the courts in October, with a date set for a case brought by environment lawyers ClientEarth who think her department’s plans to clean-up illegal levels of air pollution are inadequate.
Updated
How Priti Patel, who is now running DfID, suggested abolishing it three years ago
From today Priti Patel is in charge of the Department for International Development. But three years ago she suggested it should be abolished. She told the Sunday Telegraph:
A long-term strategic assessment is required, including the consideration to replace DfID with a Department for International Trade and Development in order to enable the UK to focus on enhancing trade with the developing world and seek out new investment opportunities in the global race.
It is possible to bring more prosperity to the developing world and enable greater wealth transfers to be made from the UK by fostering greater trade and private sector investment opportunities.
Challenges for Damian Green at DWP
Damian Green inherits not just the UK’s biggest spending department but one of its most politically volatile. Planned social security cuts triggered two government crises in recent months: defeat for the chancellor George Osborne last autumn over tax credit reductions, and the abandonment in March of plans to cut £1.2bn a year cuts from disability benefits, following the resignation of the former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
Any political breathing space gained from those U-turns will be short-lived. The brief reign of Stephen Crabb - who hinted at a more humane, conciliatory, consultative approach after the harshness of the IDS years - brought a promise from the Treasury that there would be no fresh welfare cuts in this parliament.
But billions of cuts remain in place, including the “two child” limit on tax credits, £30 a week cuts to benefits for some people in receipt of unemployment benefit after being found unfit for work, limits to housing benefit, and the extended household benefit cap.
The prime minister, Theresa May, has made much of her concern for the plight of help low income families hit by rising living costs and flatlining incomes. Yet cuts last year to universal credit work allowances have stored up another tax-credits-style revolt towards the end of the decade as millions of working households begin to lose up to £3,000 a year as they migrate to the new benefit.
Green must balance the need to keep a lid on the UK’s soaring welfare bill with managing middle-England’s increasing realisation that it is not just the jobless and feckless who lose out from welfare reform.
The last Conservative election manifesto had an eye-catching commitment to get a million disabled people into jobs as part of its strategy to achieve full employment and reduce welfare spending. Duncan- Smith had prepared a disability employment white paper, but this was paused by Crabb, who instead hinted a green paper by the autumn. Green must decide whether this remains a priority, or whether to scale down the government’s ambition.
Here is the up-to-date list of today’s cabinet appointments. It includes vacancies, and sackings/resignations. You may need to refresh the page to get it updated.
We still don’t know who the leader of the Commons will be. Or the chief secretary to the Treasury. And it is not clear whether David Mundell remains as Scottish secretary, although that seems likely given the fact that Mundell is the only Conservative MP with a Scottish seat.
Updated
Alun Cairns to remain as Welsh secretary
Alan Cairns will remain as Welsh secretary, Number 10 has announced.
Karen Bradley appointed culture secretary
Karen Bradley has been appointed culture secretary, Number 10 has announced. She was a Home Office minister.
Priti Patel appointed international development secretary
Priti Patel has become international development secretary, Number 10 has announced. She was employment minister.
Greg Clark appointed business secretary
Greg Clark has been appointed business secretary. He was communities secretary.
But he is not just business secretary, as the Number 10 announcement makes clear.
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Greg Clark as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
That suggests that the Department for Energy and Climate Change is being merged with the Department for Business (which had lost responsibility for higher education - see 2.27pm.)
Clark is also secretary of state for “industrial strategy”. That’s a title that would gladden the heart of Tony Benn, but, as Theresa May made clear in her speech on Monday, she is a strong believer in the need for an industrial strategy.
James Brokenshire appointed Northern Ireland secretary
James Brokenshire has been appointed Northern Ireland secretary, Number 10 has announced. He was immigration minister.
Like Damian Green, Brokenshire is someone who worked with Theresa May at the Home Office and who is considered a loyal ally.
Updated
Jeremy Hunt will have to show “exceptional political leadership” as he confronts some very big problems in the NHS now that he is staying at the Department of Health, the King’s Fund says.
Given the service’s deepening financial crisis, the NHS’s need for more money – beyond the extra £8bn already promised by 2020 – is, inevitably, top of that list, according to the influential thinktank.
“Jeremy Hunt faces some formidable challenges. He is on record as saying the NHS will need more money and he must now lead an honest debate with the public about what the health service can deliver with its budget. This means reviewing current priorities and avoiding making new commitments which cannot be funded,” said Professor Chris Ham, the King’s Fund’s chief executive.
“Tackling the growing crisis in social care will be a key test of the prime minister’s promise of a country that works for everyone and must move much higher up his agenda. He must reignite the stalled debate on funding reform and make the case to his cabinet colleagues for it to be a key priority for the government,” he aded.
That is certainly something Simon Stevens, the boss of the NHS in England, wants to see a new consensus on by 2018, as he outlined in an interview with the Guardian back in January. But the politics of funding a new system are highly complicated.
Updated
Priti Patel, the employment minister, is in Number 10.
Number 10 has confirmed that Sajid Javid is the new communities secretary.
Sajid Javid appointed communities secretary
Sajid Javid has been made the new communities secretary, the BBC reports. That means there is a vacancy at business.
Here is some Twitter comment on Andrea Leadsom’s appointment.
From ITV’s Robert Peston
.@andrealeadsom from potential leader to farms and environment in 3 days. Proper job but...That said, tricky Brexit unscrambling to do
— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 14, 2016
From the New Statesman’s George Eaton
Leadsom getting Defra continues theme of "you broke it, you own it" (CAP payments).
— George Eaton (@georgeeaton) July 14, 2016
From the BBC’s Daniel Sandford
Leadsom to DEFRA is fascinating. Brexiteer, she has to work out what the post-EU subsidies for farming and quotas for fish world looks like
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) July 14, 2016
Andrea Leadsom appointed environment secretary
Andrea Leadsom, who was an energy minister, has been made environment secretary, the BBC reports.
So..Andrea Leadsom gets a job in Theresa May's new cabinet as Environment Secretary
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) July 14, 2016
That means Leadsom, a leading Vote Leave campaigner, will be responsible for dealing with farmers, the group that has most to lose in terms of subsidies from Brexit. (Vote Leave claimed farmers would not lose out, because the UK government would be able to carry on paying subsidies, but Leadsom herself suggested during the campaign that the way farming subsidies are paid out could be reviewed.)
Updated
Damian Green appointed work and pensions secretary
Damian Green has been made work and pensions secretary, No 10 has announced.
Updated
It seems Nicky Morgan didn’t expect to be sacked as education secretary, having told colleagues as recently as yesterday that she was staying on. But now she has gone, possibly because of nominating Michael Gove for the Conservative party leadership.
Her successor Justine Greening inherits a bigger department after the addition of higher education and skills moving from BIS to the DfE. Some argue schools and universities make uneasy bedfellows, and will inevitably lead to budget battles. But the advent of the £9,000 tuition fee has changed the funding dynamic, and it is universities who now fear being raided by their less-well-off primary and secondary colleagues.
Greening needs urgently to get to grips with her brief, as the new higher education reform bill has its second reading in parliament on Tuesday.
Greening doesn’t have an education policy background, although she does make history as the first secretary of state to be educated at a comprehensive school.
Morgan’s departure means her “education excellence everywhere” white paper dies a death. Top of Greening’s in-tray will be picking up the pieces from that, as well as dealing with increased teacher shortages, both in training new teachers and getting them to the areas where they are most needed.
Of Greening’s junior ministers, the fate of Nick Gibb and (Lord) John Nash – schools ministers who were keepers of the Gove flame during Morgan’s term – will be of immediate interest.
UPDATE: Laura McInerney at Schools Week has written a good article looking in more detail at the educational background of previous education secretaries.
Updated
No 10 has confirmed that Chris Grayling has been appointed transport secretary.
Andrea Leadsom, Theresa May’s rival for the Tory leadership until she withdrew on Monday, has just gone into Downing Street.
Chris Grayling appointed transport secretary
Chris Grayling has just left No 10. He was leader of the Commons when he went in. Now he is transport secretary, according to Sky.
Updated
John Kerry urges Boris Johnson to adopt 'sensible' approach to Brexit.
Here is a read-out of Boris Johnson’s first phone call with his US counterpart, John Kerry. Kerry advised Johnson to adopt a “sensible” approach to Brexit.
Read out of first call between Boris Johnson and John Kerry - something for Foggy Bottomologists to pour over pic.twitter.com/H0Cb2ceDs0
— Nick Bryant (@NickBryantNY) July 14, 2016
Updated
Sky’s Beth Rigby thinks Damian Green could be going to culture.
I go to the loo, and @damiangreenmp goes in. Longstanding ally of May -perhaps DCMS? He is a former journalist
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 14, 2016
There has been a mixed reaction to the departure of Theresa Villiers from the post of Northern Ireland secretary in Theresa May’s first cabinet.
The first minister, Arlene Foster, paid tribute to Villiers, saying she enjoyed working with her and wished her the best for the future.
Like the outgoing secretary of state, Foster shared Villiers’ Euroscepticism and also called for a Brexit vote in the EU referendum.
But the Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson said Villers’ cabinet exit “will be no loss”. Anderson added: “All British secretary of states should stay over there.”
In a statement released on her Facebook page announcing her resignation from the cabinet, Villiers stated that Northern Ireland would still have “a special place in my heart”.
Updated
Damian Green, a former Home Office minister and a strong support of Theresa May during the leadership contest, has arrived at No 10.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has described as “deeply disappointing” comments made by the new chancellor, Philip Hammond, saying that he cannot envisage a scenario where Scotland has a different relationship with the EU from the rest of the UK.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme earlier on Thursday, Hammond insisted that “the best future for Scotland is inside the United Kingdom economy”, and that Scotland should be part of a UK-wide position of negotiating “from outside the European Union”. He also dismissed the idea that Scotland would have a separate relationship with the European single market. Sturgeon said:
I have been absolutely clear on this issue – the people of Scotland voted decisively to stay part of the European Union and their wishes must be respected.
That includes respect from the UK government, which is why Philip Hammond’s comments are deeply disappointing – I very much hope the new prime minister will be more open to constructive discussion.
The Scottish government is pursuing every possible avenue to protect our place in Europe – which of course means protecting businesses’ freedom to trade, the ability of workers to be protected and our right to continue to influence EU decisions.
Hammond’s comments were in contrast to Scottish secretary David Mundell, who yesterday told journalists at the Scotland Office: ““I’m open to Scotland having a slightly different deal if that’s doable.”
Updated
Former ambassador Christopher Meyer says Johnson could succeed as foreign secretary
Sir Christopher Meyer, a former ambassador to Germany and the US, has just told Sky News that Boris Johnson could be a very effective foreign secretary.
I think this is actually a bold appointment, it’s an imaginative appointment, it’s a risky appointment, but it could well prove to be just what our foreign policy needs at this historic moment in our country’s history. There needs to be now a major retooling of our foreign policy, which flows from the referendum result and the fact that Brexit means Brexit. We need now to send a shot of adrenaline through our diplomatic system so we raise our game all round the world. And I think Boris Johnson is capable of doing precisely that.
It is probably worth pointing out, before anyone else does, that Meyer’s wife Catherine is a friend of Theresa May’s.
This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Stephen Crabb’s departure.
Crabb gone - not clear if he was offered something more junior and refused or was sacked
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
Here is our updated list of appointments, vacancies, and sackings and resignations. You may have to refresh the page to get the updates.
Updated
Stephen Crabb has resigned as work and pensions secretary
Stephen Crabb has resigned as work and pensions secretary, saying it is “in the best interests of my family”.
This is clearly a reference to a Times story at the weekend revealing that Crabb had sent sexual text messages to a woman who was not his wife.
Stephen Crabb resigns from government, saying it is 'in the best interests of my family' https://t.co/H44lXciIUS pic.twitter.com/XYHpEMyRZR
— ITV News (@itvnews) July 14, 2016
Updated
Here is John Whittingdale leaving the Department for Culture after being sacked. This is from Carrie Symonds, his special adviser.
Amazing to be clapped out at @DCMS. Has been a total privilege to work for @JWhittingdale. pic.twitter.com/RdUDDnusXi
— Carrie Symonds (@carrie_symonds1) July 14, 2016
This is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.
Bit of a chumocracy still? Baroness Evans close to key May aide, Nick Timothy. He replaced her at new schools network in 2014.
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 14, 2016
No 10 has confirmed that the role of the Department for Education is going to be beefed up. Staff from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills working on higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and skills will move to education, where Justine Greening is in charge.
Downing Street says the education department will take on responsibility for:
Reforming the higher education sector to boost competition and continue to improve the quality of education that students receive; and delivering more apprenticeships through a fundamental change in the UK’s approach to skills in the workplace.
Updated
Here is Boris Johnson addressing staff in the Foreign Office on his first day as foreign secretary.
Helpfully for his new officials, the Independent has compiled an interactive map of all the countries in the world that Johnson has insulted.
A map of all the countries #BorisJohnson (new British Foreign Sec) has offended.https://t.co/sEHqtI9aye pic.twitter.com/RcXG5afYee
— Sara Firth (@Sara__Firth) July 14, 2016
These are from the Spectator’s James Forsyth.
One of the themes running through No 10 statement & reshuffle, is May trying to rid Tories of party of the rich tag https://t.co/KwVUdRlFiD
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) July 14, 2016
Those Cameroons who, wrongly, saw Theresa May as the continuity candidate getting increasingly irritated now. Not happy about No10 clear out
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) July 14, 2016
This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.
Half the Vote Leave Cabinet 6 havent made it back into Cabinet: Villiers, Whittingdale, Gove pic.twitter.com/bKZTWCfkGZ
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) July 14, 2016
Islam may be understating it. At least half of them have definitely been excluded: Michael Gove, John Whittingdale and Theresa Villiers.
Chris Grayling is almost certainly going to remain in the cabinet. But Priti Patel has not been offered a job yet, and Iain Duncan Smith is not expected to make a government comeback.
Updated
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has used Twitter to laugh off earlier reports that he was going to be moved.
'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated...' Thrilled to be back in the best job in Government.
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 14, 2016
UPDATE: One of today’s better jokes ...
Health Secretary admits to fiddling mortality rate figures https://t.co/FaCH0xprQ5
— Tom Phillips (@flashboy) July 14, 2016
Updated
Natalie Evans becomes leader of the Lords
This appointment has had journalists resorting to Wikipedia.
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Baroness Evans of Bowes Park as Leader of the House of Lords.
Natalie Evans, 40, has been in the House of Lords for less than two years. Previously she used to work for the Policy Exchange thinktank and the New Schools Network, a charity that promotes free schools. Until today she was a whip in the Lords.
She replaces Tina Stowell.
Updated
Jeremy Hunt remains as health secretary
Jeremy Hunt remains as health secretary, Number 10 confirms.
Updated
I’ve just updated our list of cabinet appointments, vacancies and sackings.
Patrick McLoughlin’s move from transport to Conservative chairman has got the first “promoted/moved sideways” categorisation. (All the other appointments have been clear promotions.)
Updated
Villiers sacked from post as Northern Ireland secretary
Theresa Villiers has resigned as Northern Ireland secretary and left the government. She was offered an alternative job but did not want it, she says in a Facebook post.
Theresa Villiers leaves government - her Facebook post below pic.twitter.com/EZhHOQwJsX
— Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) July 14, 2016
The Times’ Tim Montgomerie thinks the appointment of Gavin Williamson as chief whip is inspired.
Inspired appointment - Williamson loved enough by colleagues for them to obey him too https://t.co/A3r8oGbNUW
— Tim Montgomerie ن (@montie) July 14, 2016
As Cameron's trusted PPS, @GWilliamsonMP will be well placed to whip the many, unhappy Cameroons on the backbenchers https://t.co/ThQX838TYN
— Tim Montgomerie ن (@montie) July 14, 2016
The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope says Theresa May is reorganising Whitehall.
Department of Business,
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) July 14, 2016
Innovation and Skills, Department for Energy and Climate Change and Department for Transport are set to be closed.
They could be replaced with two new departments - one for
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) July 14, 2016
Infrastructure and one for Industry, according to sources. #CabinetReshuffle
McLoughlin becomes Conservative chairman
Patrick McLoughlin, who was transport secretary, has become Conservative chief whip. This is from Number 10:
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Being chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a government title that involves some minor duties in relation to the Duchy of Lancaster, but it enables the holder to sit in the cabinet and receive a government salary.
Patrick McLoughlin has just come out of No 10. He was transport secretary, but he would not tell the reporters what his new job is.
Updated
Gavin Williamson has become chief whip.
Cameron's former PPS, Gavin Williamson becomes the chief whip, big step up for former number 10 fixer
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
That is a big promotion. Previously, Williamson was David Cameron’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), not even a member of the government.
Williamson has just told Sky that he was “very surprised” and “very privileged” by his appointment.
Updated
Now it looks as if Jeremy Hunt is staying at health.
Sounds like Hunt is staying at health, expect to be confirmed in next few minutes - but hey, its a reshuffle, not official til its official
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
Hunt has just arrived at No 10.
Updated
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, has put out this statement about the appointment of Liz Truss as justice secretary.
The problems to be found in our overcrowded prisons can be overcome with imaginative thinking and bold action to stop throwing so many people into these failing institutions, where they are swept away into deeper currents of crime by the boredom, drug abuse and violence behind bars.
It is to be hoped that Elizabeth Truss is the person to take these opportunities on and we welcome today’s appointment by the new prime minister. It was heartening to see Theresa May highlight the issue of race and disproportionality in the justice system in her remarks outside Downing Street and we hope her government continues to regard tackling this as a priority, as well as the broader case for prison reform, as David Cameron did.
I would also like to pay tribute to the tenure of Michael Gove as Justice Secretary. During his period at the Ministry of Justice, we have seen a welcome change in the rhetoric around prisons and prisoners and the reversal of some misguided policies of the previous coalition government.
This is from Sky’s Sophy Ridge.
Department for Education will take on responsibility for higher education and skills - expanded role for new SoS @JustineGreening
— Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) July 14, 2016
At the moment the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is in charge of higher education. This suggests the Department for Business is being shrunk. It is still not clear how it will relate to the department Liam Fox, the new international trade secretary, is expected to head.
In other news the Bank of England has decided to hold interest rates where they are. Normally that it not news - interest rates have remained unchanged for seven years - but there was a lot of speculation that today they would be cut.
My colleague Graeme Wearden has more on the business live blog.
Greening becomes education secretary
Justine Greening has moved from international development to become the new education secretary, No 10 has confirmed. She is also becoming minister for women and equalities.
Here is the latest list of cabinet appointments, vacancies and sackings.
Updated
No 10 confirms that Liz Truss has become justice secretary, and the first female lord chancellor.
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Liz Truss MP as the first female Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.
(The post of justice secretary is a relatively new one, but the post of lord chancellor goes back to the middle ages.)
Updated
Liz Truss becomes justice secretary
Liz Truss is the new justice secretary, Sky reports.
Here is Richard Adams, the Guardian’s education editor, on the sacking of Nicky Morgan.
Feeling a bit sorry for @NickyMorgan01 - she was a loyal lieutenant who sunk with the Cameron-Osborne ship.
— Richard Adams (@RichardA) July 14, 2016
Someone has sent flowers to Number 10 this morning.
Not George Osborne or Michael Gove, one assumes ...
This is from the BBC’s Vicki Young.
Sounds like Sajid Javid staying in Cabinet maybe at new Biz/DECC dept?? #reshuffle
— Vicki Young (@BBCVickiYoung) July 14, 2016
Here is some comment on the reshuffle from journalists and commentators.
From Steve Richards
New PMs usually seek to keep their predecessors' allies happy- not this one. We're witnessing a rare assertion of suddenly acquired power.
— steve richards (@steverichards14) July 14, 2016
From the Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff
Hunt abandoned (doomed) leadership bid early & backed May, and still gets sacked. Man, she doesn't mess around.
— Gaby Hinsliff (@gabyhinsliff) July 14, 2016
From the BBC’s Sam Macrory
A growing cabal of sacked ex-ministers on backbenches & a small majority to work with.. might May need to go for an early general election?
— Sam Macrory (@sammacrory) July 14, 2016
From the Sunday Times’ James Lyons
At this rate Theresa May will have sacked more cabinet ministers by lunchtime than Dave did in six years
— James Lyons (@STJamesl) July 14, 2016
From Philip Cowley, a politics professor
Gvt with formal majority of 12. Six sacked Cabinet ministers already...
— Philip Cowley (@philipjcowley) July 14, 2016
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, has arrived at No 10.
Updated
This is from the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
Sources: Theresa May is expected to hold the first meeting of her Cabinet later today #CabinetReshuffle
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) July 14, 2016
Michael Gove, the outgoing justice secretary, only joined Twitter last month. Here is his 94th tweet.
It's been an enormous privilege to serve for the last six years. Best of luck to the new government - MG
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) July 14, 2016
Updated
Liz Truss, the environment secretary, has arrived at No 10.
Updated
Jeremy Hunt is leaving his health secretary post, but moving to a different job, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Hunt not sacked, getting a different job
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
Theresa May arrives at No 10
Theresa May has arrived at No 10. It is assumed that she was in her Commons office this morning sacking ministers in person.
(Prime ministers sometimes do their sackings in the Commons because ministers are then spared the “walk of shame” up Downing Street.)
Updated
Expect Truss and Greening into Downing Street soon
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
That is Elizabeth Truss, the environment secretary, and Justine Greening, the international development secretary.
If people are being invited to walk up the street into No 10, then that normally means they are being promoted.
Updated
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, is out, according to the BBC.
Jeremy Hunt also out
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
UPDATE:
Hunt not sacked, getting a different job
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
Updated
No 10 confirms that Gove, Letwin, Whittingdale and Morgan all sacked
No 10 has just sent out a statement confirming that four cabinet ministers have been sacked this morning.
This morning the following cabinet ministers left the government.
- Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
- Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Rt Hon John Whittingdale, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
- Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities
Updated
Boris Johnson is a liar, says French foreign minister
Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister, has described Boris Johnson, Britain’s new foreign secretary, as a liar. According to Reuters he told Europe 1 radio this morning:
I am not at all worried about Boris Johnson, but during the campaign he lied a lot to the British people and now it is he who has his back against the wall ...
[He has] his back against the wall to defend his country but also with his back against the wall the relationship with Europe should be clear. I need a partner with whom I can negotiate and who is clear, credible and reliable.
This is from the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
Latest rumour: Sajid Javid gone. #CabinetReshuffle
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) July 14, 2016
Ed Ram, whose Twitter profile says he is a journalist working at the BBC, has hastily deleted this tweet.
He says it was just a joke.
@stvharry i was joking around - didn't want to give the wrong impression :)
— Ed Ram (@Ed__Ram) July 14, 2016
Sarah Brown, Gordon’s wife, has used Twitter to send her best wishes to Theresa May’s husband.
Wishing Philip May well in his new role - a constant feeling of being one step away from unwitting error but a huge privilege all the same
— Sarah Brown (@SarahBrownUK) July 14, 2016
Sky’s Beth Rigby says she thinks Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister, is out too.
Woah: Morgan, Gove, Whittingdale OUT. Expect Letwin is OUT too - two sources tell me he's been into see May
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 14, 2016
You can read an up-to-date list of cabinet appointments, sackings and vacancies here.
I am updating the post as we go along, and so you may need to refresh the page to get the latest updates.
Whittingdale loses his post as culture secretary
John Whittingdale has left his post as culture secretary.
Has been a privilege to serve as Culture Secretary. I wish my successor every success & will continue to support creative industries
— John Whittingdale (@JWhittingdale) July 14, 2016
Again, it is unclear whether or not he has got an alternative post.
This is from the Times Educational Supplement’s Richard Vaughan.
Strong rumours that @JustineGreening is in line for education secretary following @NickyMorgan01's sacking
— Richard Vaughan (@RichardVaughan1) July 14, 2016
This is from ITV’s Robert Peston.
To repeat, this is a HUGE reshuffle - total remaking of government. Massive political, cultural and social shift by @theresa_may
— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 14, 2016
Nicky Morgan confirms she has lost her job as education secretary
Nicky Morgan has confirmed that she is no longer education secretary.
Disappointed not to be continuing as Education Secretary & Min for Women & Equalities - two wonderful roles it's been a privilege to hold
— Nicky Morgan (@NickyMorgan01) July 14, 2016
It is not clear from this whether or not she has been offered an alternative government job.
Updated
Nicky Morgan 'expected to be sacked'
Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, is also expected to be sacked, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Expect Nicky Morgan, who supported Gove, also to be out
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 14, 2016
This is from ITV’s Robert Peston.
I always thought @David_Cameron was ruthless. Turns out he was Larry the cat compared with @theresa_may
— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 14, 2016
Michael Gove has been sacked as justice secretary
Michael Gove has been sacked as justice secretary, the BBC is reporting.
Justice Secretary Michael Gove is sacked from the cabinethttps://t.co/K6pbNnkHr0 pic.twitter.com/x6dduqAT48
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 14, 2016
Confirmed: sources say Michael Gove has been "sacked". Farewell, Notting Hill set.
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) July 14, 2016
Updated
David Davis's proposals for negotiating Brext
The most important task facing the new government is negotiating Brexit and the person in charge of that is David Davis, the new Brexit secretary.
What is he going to do? Ultimately, Theresa May will make the final decisions, but we have a very good insight into Davis’s thinking because he wrote a long article on exactly this topic for ConservativeHome on Monday.
Here are some of the points he made.
- Davis said he expected the EU to continue to allow the UK tariff-free access to the single market, even with the UK imposing new border controls.
This leaves the question of single market access. The ideal outcome, (and in my view the most likely, after a lot of wrangling), is continued tariff-free access. Once the European nations realise that we are not going to budge on control of our borders, they will want to talk, in their own interest. There may be some complexities about rules of origin and narrowly based regulatory compliance for exports into the EU, but that is all manageable.
- He said triggering article 50, the move that starts the two-year EU withdrawal process, should be delayed until around the end of the year.
But what if it they are irrational, as so many remain-supporting commentators asserted they would be in the run-up to the referendum?
This is one of the reasons for taking a little time before triggering Article 50. The negotiating strategy has to be properly designed, and there is some serious consultation to be done first. Constitutional propriety requires us to consult with the Scots, Welsh, and Northern Irish governments first, and common sense implies that we should consult with stakeholders like the City, CBI, TUC, small business bodies, the NFU, universities and research foundations and the like. None of them should have any sort of veto, but we should try to accommodate their concerns so long as it does not compromise the main aim. This whole process should be completed to allow triggering of article 50 before or by the beginning of next year.
- He said that, if the EU insists on denying the UK tariff-free access to the single market, the UK should use the income from tariffs on EU imports to support British industry. And he suggested the government should publish a pre-negotiation white paper before invoking article 50.
In this process, we should work out what we do in the improbable event of the EU taking a dog in the manger attitude to single market tariff-free access, and insist on WTO rules and levies, including 10 per cent levies on car exports. Let us be clear: I do not believe for a moment that that will happen, but let us humour the pre-referendum Treasury fantasy.
In that eventuality, people seem to forget that the British government will be in receipt of over £2 billion of levies on EU cars alone. There is nothing to stop us supporting our indigenous car industry to make it more competitive if we so chose.
WTO rules would not allow us to explicitly offset the levies charged, but we could do a great deal to support the industry if we wanted to. Research support, investment tax breaks, lower vehicle taxes – there are a whole range of possibilities to protect the industry, and if need be, the consumer. Such a package would naturally be designed to favour British consumers and British industry. Which of course is another reason that the EU will not force this outcome, particularly if we publicise it heavily in a pre-negotiation white paper.
- He said that he wanted talks on securing trade deals with the UK’s main partners to start immediately, in the hope of concluding them within two years.
So be under no doubt: we can do deals with our trading partners, and we can do them quickly. I would expect the new prime minister on September 9th [this was written before Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the Tory leadership contest] to immediately trigger a large round of global trade deals with all our most favoured trade partners. I would expect that the negotiation phase of most of them to be concluded within between 12 and 24 months.
So within two years, before the negotiation with the EU is likely to be complete, and therefore before anything material has changed, we can negotiate a free trade area massively larger than the EU. Trade deals with the US and China alone will give us a trade area almost twice the size of the EU, and of course we will also be seeking deals with Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, the UAE, Indonesia – and many others.
- He said that he was not in favour of cutting employment rights.
There is also a political, or perhaps sentimental point. The great British industrial working classes voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. I am not at all attracted by the idea of rewarding them by cutting their rights.
Updated
Angela Eagle, the Labour leadership contender, was filmed last night responding with disbelief when she heard Boris Johnson had been made foreign secretary.
Explaining why she was so appalled she told the Press Association:
I couldn’t believe that somebody who went round the country telling blatant lies could be rewarded in that way, and I thought immediately of the Hillsborough families because he repeated the slurs about them and then he went up to Merseyside and insulted Merseyside and was forced by Michael Howard to go back up and apologise.
And then I thought about what he’d said about President Obama, that somehow his Kenyan roots had made him more pro-European.
I don’t think that that’s the kind of behaviour of a British foreign secretary.
ITV’s Robert Peston thinks Michael Gove will be sacked.
.@theresa_may will be doing the ministerial sackings first this morning. I suspect @michaelgove will be one asked to return to backbenches
— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 14, 2016
Philip Hammond's morning interviews - Summary
Here is a summary of the key points from Philip Hammond’s morning interviews as the new chancellor.
- He confirmed that George Osborne’s deficit reduction timetable has been abandoned. Asked if he was still committed to deficit reduction, he said:
Our economy will change as we go forward in the future and it will require a different set of parameters to measure success. Of course we have got to reduce the deficit further but looking at how and when and at what pace we do that and how we measure our progress in doing that is something that we now need to consider in light of the new circumstances that the economy is facing.
- He said Britain would leave the single market but then negotiate access to it.
We will come out of the single market as a result of our decision to leave the European Union. The question is how we negotiate with the European Union, not from the point of view of being members but from the point of view of being close neighbours and trade partners.
- He said that restoring business confidence was now a priority.
In the short term, the decision to exit the European Union came as a surprise to the markets, a surprise to a lot of people actually, a surprise to business. And therefore it’s rattled confidence, it’s cause people to put plans on hold while they wait to see how things clarify.
The fact that we’ve moved quickly to resolve the question of the leadership of the Conservative party and get a new prime minister installed I think will help to restore business and consumer confidence.
What we’ve got to do now is show as a team how we’re going to take this negotiation with the European Union forward, how we’re going to satbilise and support the economy through the coming months in order to help that confidence to be restored as quickly as possible.
- He said he was “confident” the new Hinkley Point nuclear power station would go ahead.
- He sidestepped a question about whether he supported the proposed third runway at Heathrow.
Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, was at school with the broadcaster Richard Madeley. Three years ago Madeley said that Hammond was a Goth back then, and that he ‘used to arrive in class in leather trench-coat with The Guardian under his arm’.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain Hammond jokingly agreed when Piers Morgan put it to him that this could be “career-wrecking” for a Conservative (reading the Guardian, not being a Goth). Hammond said:
After making these shocking allegations, Richard Madeley did contact me to concede that actually on reflection, it probably was the Financial Times, not The Guardian.
And he said that Goths “hadn’t even been invented in those days”.
Updated
We’ll start getting new cabinet appointments at about 11am, Sky’s Beth Rigby reports.
BREAK: appointments to May's new government will start this morning at 11am
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) July 14, 2016
Boris Johnson’s red box may contain a briefing on Brexit. But if he wants a reliable guide to the options available, he could do a lot worse than read Patrick Wintour’s article about Britain could do.
Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, will be taking energy questions in the Commons, the Department for Energy says.
Robert Moore, ITV’s Washington correspondent, says the appointment of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary has gone down badly with the White House. Here’s an extract from his blog.
To put it politely, it has not gone down well. Don’t even listen to the State Department spokesman saying it is business as usual.
The President’s foreign policy team read and was deeply offended by the Boris article that talked of Barack Obama as “incoherent, inconsistent and downright hypocritical ... a part-Kenyan President.”
You can say it doesn’t much matter. President Obama has only six months left in office. But I don’t think that Mrs Clinton will view him differently.
One veteran Obama official put it this way: Brexit has diminished Britain in this town. Germany is now going to be more central to US policy in Europe. That is doubly true with the Boris appointment.
It’s energy questions in the Commons at 9.30am. Amber Rudd was made home secretary yesterday, and currently she has not been replaced as energy secretary. Presumably Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, will have to answer all the questions. (I’ve called the Department for Energy for clarification, but they could not help.)
New cabinet - Appointments so far
Here are the cabinet appointments so far.
(I will update this list as we go along, but you may need to refresh the page to get the updates to appear.)
The new cabinet
Theresa May - Prime minister
Philip Hammond - Chancellor (promoted - was foreign secretary)
Boris Johnson - Foreign secretary (promoted - was backbencher)
Amber Rudd - Home secretary (promoted - was energy secretary)
Michael Fallon - Defence secretary (no change)
David Davis - Brexit secretary (promoted - was backbencher)
Liam Fox - International trade secretary (promoted - was backbencher)
Liz Truss - Justice secretary (promoted - was environment secretary)
Justine Greening - Education secretary and minister for women and equalities (promoted - was international development secretary)
Gavin Williamson - Chief whip (promoted - was David Cameron’s PPS. The chief whip attends cabinet, but often the chief whip is not technically a cabinet minister)
Patrick McLoughlin - Conservative chairman (promoted/moved sideways - was transport secretary)
Jeremy Hunt - Health secretary (no change)
Natalie Evans - Leader of the Lords (promoted - was a Lords whip)
Chris Grayling - Transport secretary (promoted/moved sideways - was leader of the Commons)
Damian Green - Work and pensions secretary (promoted - was a backbencher)
Andrea Leadsom - Environment secretary (promoted - was energy minister)
Sajid Javid - Communities secretary (moved sideways/demoted - was business secretary)
James Brokenshire - Northern Ireland secretary (promoted - was immigration minister)
Greg Clark - Business and energy secretary (promoted - was communities secretary)
Priti Patel - International development secretary (promoted - was employment minister)
Karen Bradley - Culture secretary (promoted - was Home Office minister)
Alun Cairns - Welsh secretary (no change)
David Mundell - Scottish secretary (no change)
David Gauke - Chief secretary to the Treasury (promoted - was financial secretary to the Treasury)
David Lidington - Leader of the Commons and lord president of the council (promoted - was Europe minister)
Vacancies
Cabinet Office minister (if Oliver Letwin being replaced)
Out
George Osborne - Was chancellor
Michael Gove - Was justice secretary
Nicky Morgan - Was education secretary
John Whittingdale - Was culture secretary
Oliver Letwin - Was Cabinet Office minister
Theresa Villiers - Was Northern Ireland secretary
Tina Stowell - No longer leader of the Lords
Stephen Crabb - Was work and pensions secretary
Mark Harper - Was chief whip
Greg Hands - No longer chief secretary to the Treasury
Updated
Here is some Twitter reaction to the Philip Hammond interview.
From ITV’s Robert Peston
Hammond's underlying message: he hopes Bank of Eng provides short-term stimulus today with interest-rate cut while he works out what to do!
— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 14, 2016
From BuzzFeed’s Siraj Datoo
Conservatives promised to end the deficit by 2020. Hammond just said Brexit had "changed the parameters."
— Siraj Datoo (@dats) July 14, 2016
Pledge abandoned ❌
From the Sunday Times’ James Lyons
Phil Hammond on Boris: don't worry he isn't really in charge of MI6
— James Lyons (@STJamesl) July 14, 2016
From Paul Mason, a Guardian columnist
Hammond also tells @BBCRadio4 City has to be in Single Market - that implies EEA strategy for May administration
— Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) July 14, 2016
Hammond says he is 'confident' Hinkley Point will go ahead
Hammond says London provides a crucial economic support service to European businesses. So it is in their interests that the City is protect.
Q: Will the Heathrow third runway go ahead?
Hammond says that is a decision for the new government. It has not been discussed yet. He will want to look at the evidence.
Q: Will new Hinkely Point nuclear power station go ahead?
Hammond says he is “confident” that this will go ahead. He says he hopes that this decision will be finalised “very soon”.
Q: But the cost has risen to £30bn. Would it be worth it?
Hammond says having a reliable power supply is essential for a modern economy. Hinkey Point will generate 6% of the country’s energy.
Q: Amber Rudd said she would not trust Boris Johnson to drive her home. Now he is in charge of MI6. How will that work?
Hammond says the tone of the government will be set by Theresa May. Any new minister going into a department has a huge amount of support. And there is “very strong continuity” provided by civil servants.
And that’s it. Hammond’s interview is over.
Hammond refuses to set a timetable for deficit reduction
Q: Do you still believe in eliminating the deficit?
Hammond says the approach taken in 2010 was the right one. Britain is in an “immeasurably stronger” position than it was then. But now we are in a new phase. The economy will change as a result of the Brexit vote.
Q: So you have happy to live with the deficit as it is?
No, says Hammond.
Q: So when will you get rid of it?
Hammond says that it something to consider in the new situation.
- Hammond refuses to set a timetable for deficit reduction.
Q: Do you still think it could take longer than the second world war to negotiate Brexit?
Hammond says ratifying the new treaty will take some time.
But he says he hopes the government can reach an agreement on what the deal will look like more quickly.
He says business wants to know on what terms it will be able to sell into the single market.
Philip Hammond's Today interview
Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, is on the Today programme. Mishal Husain is interviewing him.
Hammond says he does not anticipate an emergency budget.
But the Brexit vote has sent a shock through the system. He wants to send signs of reassurance.
Q: But you were part of Project Fear. You said Brexit would have a chilling effect.
Hammond says there has been a chilling effect on markets. Investment has been affected.
But a new government is being put in place, and it will deliver certainty.
Britain is in a stronger position than it would have been if it had had to wait until 9 September for a new government.
Q: So, if there is a chilling effect, why not do something now. Will you cut corporation tax as a stimulus?
Hammond says he won’t set out his plans now.
Q: But do you accept the case for a stimulus?
Hammond says he will meet the governor of the Bank of England later. He will listen to advice. But his immediate view is that investment decisions have been halted. He wants to sent a signal of reassurance to business. They must know Britain will remain an attractive location for investment.
I’m Andrew Sparrow, and I’m blogging now for the day.
Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, is about to be interviewed on the Today programme. I will be covering that in full.
He has already given some interviews to other programmes. Here are the highlights.
- Hammond ruled out an emergency budget.
There is no plan for an emergency budget, as Theresa May made clear. There will be an autumn statement in the normal way and then there will be a budget in the normal way. But the markets do need signals of reassurance, they need to know we will do whatever is necessary to keep the economy on track.
- He said Boris Johnson would be “very good” in his post as foreign secretary. When it was pointed out that Johnson’s approach would be different to his (Hammond was foreign secretary until yesterday), Hammond replied:
We have all got different styles and that is why we make a strong team. We are very different people and when you are building a team for anything you want different kinds of people with different kinds of skills. And I think Boris will be very good in this job - Boris is a very big figure in the Conservative Party, he is a big figure in the country, he is a national figure. He will be an asset to both the party and the country working as part of a team closely together with the rest of us to make sure we deliver for Britain in the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Updated
Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog.
The big picture
So the UK now has a new prime minister in Theresa May after the former home secretary went to Buckingham Palace and then told the nation that the monarch had invited her to form a new government.
The really big surprise came with her decision to appoint the leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson as foreign secretary.
There was also a surprise elevation for Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, who will succeed May as home secretary. Rudd has been an MP since 2010 and only joined the cabinet last May.
Liam Fox also rejoins the ranks of Conservative heavyweights after years of being out in the cold after being appointed secretary of state for international trade.
Does anyone have a Brexit plan yet?
No, although that will now be down to David Davis, another leading leave campaigner, who becomes the catchily titled secretary of state for exiting the European Union. Expect that to soon become Brexit secretary.
For the real story of May’s cabinet decisions, have a read of John Crace’s sketch.
You should also know:
- Owen Smith has set out his stall for the Labour leadership by saying he would offer the public a second referendum to ratify any Brexit deal Britain strikes with the EU.
- Jeremy Corbyn tacitly endorsed bullying and intimidation of Labour staff by voting against the proposal for a secret ballot on Wednesday night, an NEC member said.
- The Labour leadership is facing the prospect of a split on what action to take against Tony Blair over the invasion of Iraq as Emily Thornberry, the new shadow foreign secretary, opposed a censure motion against the former prime minister.
Diary
- 12pm: Bank of England may cut interest rates to 0.25% in a bid to bolster the post-Brexit economy.
- 5pm: NHS Solidarity march in central London s to encourage action to defend the NHS from privatisation.
- 930am: Unite policy conference continues at the Brighton Centre.
Read these
Anne Perkins dissects Theresa May’s speech: what she said and what she meant.
Simon Jenkins says that although May took on the police, but her new foes are far fiercer.
Polly Toynbee writes that David Cameron has washed his hands of No 10 - but he’s left an almighty mess behind.
Baffling claim of the day
Inevitably, it has to be new foreign secretary Boris Johnson:
Clearly now we have a massive opportunity in this country to make a great success of our relationship with Europe and with the world and I’m very excited to be asked to play a part in that.”
And another thing
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