Rishi Sunak's Cabinet Reshuffle: Who's In, Who's Out And Who's Keeping Their Job

After criticism that his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson surrounded themselves with only loyalists to the detriment of experienced and balanced governing, Sunak promised to create a Cabinet drawing upon all wings of the party. 

Following the announcement on Monday that he had won an unusually succinct Conservative leadership contest, he promised MPs he would "unite all the talents of our party in a broad and inclusive government".

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who backed Boris Johnson's failed leadership bid earlier this week, was early to resign as business secretary.

Sunak retained Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor, as was widely predicted following his succesful work in steadying the UK's financial markets after Truss's disastrous mini-Budget created economic turmoil. 

In a controversial move, the new Prime Minister re-appointed Suella Braverman as Home Secretary just six days after she was forced to resign from government having been found to have breached the ministerial code when she shared official government documents through her personal email.

He has faced a tricky balance to reward some of his key backers without alienating other parts of the party.

Here's who's in, who's out, and who's keeping their job: 

In:

Dominic Raab

The former Foreign Secretary has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary after supporting Sunak's leadership bid.

Raab had held the same combination of roles under Boris Johnson.

His return to government comes after a stint on the backbenches during Truss's time in Downing Street.

Simon Hart

Hart has been appointed as Conservative chief whip following the removal of Wendy Morton earlier today.

Hart had previously served as Welsh Secretary from 2019 until July 2022 until he quit as part of a wave of resignations which led to the downfall of Boris Johnson.

Nadhim Zahawi

Zahawi will remain in cabinet, but will not hold a definitive cabinet role, having been appointed a minister without portfolio.

He has been appointed as Conservative Party chair, meaning he will be responsible for handling the party's membership and elections.

It means he will no longer serve as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a job which he was given by Liz Truss.

The decision to keep Zahawi in cabinet comes after he backed Boris Johnson's leadership bid before shifting his allegiance to Sunak when Johnson decided to drop out of the race.

Oliver Dowden

Dowden has been appointed as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a senior cabinet office role.

He had most recently held co-chairmanship of the Conservative Party but resigned from the job in June following two by-election defeats.

Suella Braverman

In a controversial move, Braverman has been re-appointed as Home Secretary just six days after she was forced to resign from the role after sharing an official document via her personal email - a breach of the ministerial code.

Grant Shapps

Shapps will take over as Business Secretary following the resignation of Jacob Rees-Mogg earlier today. The move comes just days after Shapps was appointed as Home Secretary following the resignation of Suella Braverman.

Shapps was a strong supporter of Sunak's leadership bid, and had previously served as Transport Secretary under Boris Johnson.

Gillian Keegan

The Chichester MP who first entered Parliament in 2017 has been appointed as Education Secretary.

It is her first cabinet-level role, having previously held junior ministerial posts in the Foreign Office and Department of Health.

Mel Stride

Stride, who has most recently chaired the powerful Commons Treasury Committee, has been appointed as Work and Pensions Secretary.

He had previously served as Commons leader under Theresa May before being sacked by Boris Johnson and replaced with Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Stride, who was a vocal critic of Truss and Kwarteng's economic plans, played a crucial role in Sunak's leadership team.

Thérèse Coffey

Coffey, a close political ally of Liz Truss, will remain in cabinet having been appointed as Environment Secretary under Rishi Sunak.

A close political ally of Liz Truss, she had served as Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary, roles which have now been handed to Dominic Raab and Stephen Barclay respectively.

Speaking to Sky News as she left Downing Street, Coffey said she was "going home to Defra", having previously served as a junior minister in the department from 2016 until 2019.

Stephen Barclay

Barclay has been appointed as Health Secretary, a role which he held earlier this year between July and September.

The North East Cambridgeshire MP has held a range of other senior government roles, including as Brexit Secretary under Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

He had previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, working in the department during Sunak's time as Chancellor.

Michael Gove

The senior Conservative figure has returned to government having been appointed as Levelling Up Secretary - a role he previously held under Boris Johnson.

Gove had also held various cabinet roles under David Cameron and Theresa May but was not given a job by Liz Truss.

The appointment comes despite Gove's claims in August that he was stepping back from frontline politics.

David Davies

The Monmouth MP has been promoted to Welsh Secretary.

A prominent Brexiteer, Davies has has held a junior ministerial role in the department since December 2019.

Victoria Prentis

Prentis becomes Attorney General having served as a minister both in the The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and The Department for Work and Pensions.

Jeremy Quinn

Jeremy Quinn becomes Paymaster General having served as a minister in the Home Office.

Mark Harper

Former Chief Whip Mark Harper has become secretary of state for transport. 

John Glen

The Salisbury in Wiltshire MP is now also Chief Secretary to the Treasury, a position that attends cabinet. He was previously a Treasury minister. 

Johnny Mercer

The MP for Plymouth Moor View has been reappointed as the minister for veterans affairs, having held the job twice under Boris Johnson.

Sir Gavin Williamson

Williamson has been appointed minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office. He has previously served in numerous government positions including education secretary and defence secretary.

Robert Jenrick

Sunak ally and Newark MP Jenrick has been moved from the Department of Health to the Home Office, where he has been appointed immigration minister. 

Andrew Mitchell

Sutton Coldfield MP Mitchell has been appointed minister for development at the Foreign Office. He served as International Development Secretary under David Cameron  between 2010 and 2012. 

 

Keeping Their Job:

Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt will remain as Chancellor having recently scrapped Liz Truss's mini-Budget as part of efforts to reduce turmoil in the UK's financial markets.

He took up the role on 14 October after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked by Truss.

In a statement following the announcement, Hunt admitted the role was going to be "tough".

"But protecting the vulnerable - and people's jobs, mortgages and bills - will be at the front of our minds as we work to restore stability, confidence and long-term growth," he said.

Alok Sharma

Alok Sharma has kept his role as COP26 President, and will represent the UK at this year's COP27 summit, but will no longer attend cabinet.

James Cleverly 

Cleverly will remain as foreign secretary, Downing Street has confirmed. He was appointed to the role in September when Liz Truss vacated the position to become Prime Minister. 

Ben Wallace

Wallace is remaining as defence secretary, a job which he has held since July 2019.

Wallace has been widely praised by Conservative MPs over his performance in the job since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Penny Mordaunt

Mordaunt, who dropped out of the leadership race on Monday, has kept her job as Commons leader.

The move will comes as a surprise to some Conservative MPs who had expected that Sunak would offer his leadership rival a more senior government job.

Kemi Badenoch

Badenoch has kept her job as International Trade Secretary and has also been handed the equalities brief.

The former leadership candidate was handed the role by Liz Truss, and had backed Sunak's latest leadership bid.

Michelle Donelan

Donelan has retained her job as Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, which she has held since early September.

She had previously served as Education Secretary for two days, having been appointed to the role on 5 July by Boris Johnson before quitting just 48-hours later with a plea for Johnson to resign.

Chris Heaton-Harris

Heaton-Harris will remain in post as Northern Ireland Secretary. He has held the role since 6 September following his appointment by Liz Truss.

Alister Jack

Scotland Secretary Alister Jack will stay in the job which he has held since July 2019.

Lord True

Lord True will remain in post as Leader of the Lords. He was appointed to the role in September, taking over from Baroness Evans who had held the job from 2016.

Tom Tugendhat

Tom Tugendhat, who ran in the Conservative leadership election over the summer, keeps his job as security minister.

Out:

Jacob Rees-Mogg 

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is the first to leave the government having tendered his resignation to Rishi Sunak.

"He knows he was very close to the previous two regimes and it didn't seem likely he was going to be appointed in the new cabinet," a source close to Rees-Mogg told Sky News.

"He's happy to support the Prime Minister from the backbenches."

Brandon Lewis

Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis has confirmed he has resigned from the government.

In a tweet, Lewis said: "The new PM will have my support from the back benches to tackle the many challenges we face - as a Party and as a country."

Wendy Morton

Chief Whip Wendy Morton has left the government. She had reportedly resigned last week following a chaotic Commons vote on fracking, but it was later confirmed she was staying in the job.

In a tweet confirming her departure from the government, she said: "Heading to the back benches from where I will continue to represent the constituents, businesses and communities of Aldridge-Brownhills."

Vicky Ford

The minister for development, who attends cabinet, confirmed she was leaving her role, saying there was "no greater honour" than to represent the UK overseas.

In a tweet, she said: "I am sorry to leave the [Foreign Office] but wish my successor and Rishi Sunak all the very best."

Chloe Smith

Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith has also been removed from her post.

"I would like to thank all of the brilliant staff at the Department for Work and Pensions for their dedication to helping people into work and protecting the most vulnerable," she said.

Kit Malthouse

Education Secretary Kit Malthouse has confirmed his resignation from the government.

He was the fifth MP to have served as Education Secretary since July.

"As I leave the DfE, I do so with profound gratitude to officials, my private office team, and brilliant advisers, who all worked so hard," he wrote in a tweet.  

"I hope my successor can harness their commitment to the most important mission in Whitehall: the future and welfare of our children."

Robert Buckland

Buckland confirmed he was resigning as Welsh Secretary "at his own request".

The long-serving minister said the party must “come together” to deliver the promises that won them their majority in 2019.

His letter read: "You can be assured of my support from the backbenches as we deal with the economic and security crisis that faces us.

"We have to now come together to deliver our 2019 manifesto and to ensure that our country emerges stronger from the storms that beset us."

Jake Berry

The Conservative Party chair also confirmed he was leaving the government. He said it had been an "honour" to hold the role but added that "all good things must come to an end".

Ranil Jayawardena

Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena has also resigned. In his letter to the new Prime Minister he said he was standing aside because he knew Sunak wanted a "new team" around him in No 10.

Simon Clarke

Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke has also left the government, saying it had been a "great privilege" to serve in the role.

"My loyalty to @trussliz and @BorisJohnson was sincere to the last and I appreciate deeply the opportunity they gave me," he wrote in a Twitter thread confirming his departure. 

"But I meant every word that I said yesterday: @Conservatives must unite under our new PM and should all work to ensure @RishiSunak succeeds. He has my support."

 

 

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