Jeremy Corbyn blasts Theresa May over title changes in 'lacklustre' reshuffle
3 min read
Jeremy Corbyn tonight tore into the Conservative reshuffle and argued Theresa May cannot “make up for nearly eight years of failure by changing the name of a department”.
Two Cabinet ministers - Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid - had their titles extended to include social care and housing respectively in the new year ministerial re-vamp.
But little else changed in the hotly-briefed shake-up - which saw personnel moves in the Justice, Work and Pensions and Tory chair briefs.
After lengthy talks in Downing Street between Health Secretary Mr Hunt and Mrs May today, the minister emerged with his brief tweaked to become 'Secretary of State for Health and Social Care'.
Mr Javid meanwhile left his meeting in No 10 with the new title 'Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government'.
But addressing Labour MPs in parliament tonight, Mr Corbyn fumed: “In 2018, the impact of Tory austerity is hitting home with the public, most tragically with the most serious NHS winter crisis yet.
“And yet the Government’s big plan for the New Year is to dodge the real issues and reshuffle the pack in a pointless and lacklustre PR exercise.
“It’s simply not good enough. You can’t make up for nearly eight years of failure by changing the name of a department.”
Mr Corbyn blasted what he called the “breathtaking complacency” of the Prime Minister on the NHS and said the “weak and struggling government is causing untold damage”.
But one exasperated Labour MP said Mr Corbyn was incorrect when he told the meeting EU membership and single market membership were the same thing.
A Labour spokesperson said the leader reiterated hopes to "retain the benefits" of the single market and customs union and said the mood in the meeting was "very positive".
But after the meeting former frontbencher and pro-EU campaigner Chuka Umuna tweeted a thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Corbyn.
RESHUFFLE
Elsewhere in the reshuffle, David Lidington replaced Damian Green as Cabinet Office minister - although he will not take the First Secretary of State title.
Ex-work and pensions secretary David Gauke took over from Mr Lidington to become the sixth justice secretary in eight years, while former immigration minister Brandon Lewis replaced Patrick McLoughlin as Tory chairman.
James Brokenshire resigned as Northern Ireland secretary due to health reasons and was replaced by former culture secretary Karen Bradley.
Backbencher James Cleverly was made Tory vice chair - while a number of MPs took vice chair roles with specific briefs in a bid to better reach out to specific social or policy interest groups.
Keep up to date with all the New Year reshuffle moves as they happen on our live grid.
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