Stephen Crabb has been appointed as the new work and pensions secretary to replace Iain Duncan Smith, the prime minister has announced.
Crabb, the Welsh secretary, fills the gap caused by the resignation of Duncan Smith, who quit in anger over cuts to disability benefits announced in the budget.
David Cameron revealed that Alun Cairns would take over as secretary of state for Wales, while Guto Bebb would become a junior minister in the Wales Office. All three are supporters of the “in” campaign for the EU referendum.
The decision appears to have come as a surprise to Crabb himself – who tweeted after 9am that he had a “busy Saturday” in Haverfordwest, meeting constituents during a “full advice surgery”.
Duncan Smith’s resignation triggered a furious row between the Department for Work and Pensions and Downing Street.
Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives and an ally of Crabb’s, tweeted:
Delighted for @scrabbmp - DWP is a big job, but Stephen understands welfare reform from the inside. Watch the change in tone.
— Ruth Davidson MSP (@RuthDavidsonMSP) March 19, 2016
But Labour’s shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, accused the prime minister of switching “the quiet man for a yes man,” and urged him to “replace the policy not just the salesman”.
Crabb was born in Scotland but brought up in a council home in Pembrokeshire by a single mother who had to flee a violent partner. “One of my earliest memories is of getting between my mother and father as he came at her with a knife,” Crabb said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.
He went to state schools in Wales and Scotland before studying at Bristol University and London Business School. His appointment suggests Cameron is keen for welfare reforms to continue, but more tactfully. Crabb’s background means he will be able to make the case for reform with more credibility than more privileged members of the cabinet.
There had been speculation that the Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock, a protege of George Osborne, would get the job. Hancock’s appointment would have been unpopular among Conservative MPs who blame the chancellor for the mess in the first place.
Crabb’s promotion has ignited speculation that he could be a potential future Conservative leader, if Tory modernisers believe Osborne is unlikely to receive the backing of enough MPs and decide to turn to the next generation.
Crabb has a strong interest in international development, and led for two years Project Umubano, the Conservative party’s social action project in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
He is married to a French woman, Beatrice Monnier, and is a father of two. Outside of work Crabb is a big rugby fan, leading the political battle on the field as vice captain of the Commons and Lords RFC team.
He is a practising Christian and the patron of a Welsh disability group, Pembrokeshire Mencap. He has also run the London marathon three times and enjoys mountain biking, tennis and playing the guitar. He is reportedly a big fan of punk rock.
The Press Association contributed to this report
