Displaying items by tag: cabinet reshuffle

Rishi Sunak has reshaped the government. Grant Shapps is secretary of state for energy, security and net zero - a new department. The government wants us to be a science superpower, but science has regularly moved departments, with many different ministers. Creating a new department enables it to be represented in cabinet. Kemi Badenoch becomes the new business secretary. Rachel Maclean is the new housing minister, the sixth person to hold the post in 12 months. She is tasked with solving the UK's housing crisis. Other government departments have also seen high turnovers since 2010, with twelve prisons ministers and ten immigration ministers. There have been five schools ministers, but Nick Gibb occupied the role on three separate occasions. Appointing Lee Anderson as vice-chairman sparked worries: he vigorously backs the death penalty and a Channel naval standoff, and believes food bank clients do not budget properly. See

Christians in Parliament met two days before the cabinet reshuffle and the theme of their service was ‘hope in waiting’. Their worship was based on Psalm 86. With this in mind we can base our prayers for our new and established cabinet members on that psalm: ‘Father among the gods, there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. You created every nation and have a purpose for each one. You created these islands and raised up leaders through generations. We lift today’s leaders to You and pray that each one will bring glory to Your name. Teach each cabinet member Your way forward, help those who are in new offices to humbly learn and quickly grow into the new role you have prepared for them. Lord, inspire their decisions. May the Christians in Parliament continually have Your insights as they rely on You to do marvellous deeds in the coming months and years.’

Sajid Javid has shocked Westminster by quitting as chancellor of the exchequer in the middle of Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle. He rejected the prime minister's order to fire his entire team of aides, saying no self-respecting minister could accept such a condition. He has been replaced as chancellor by chief secretary to the treasury Rishi Sunak - who just seven months ago was a junior housing minister. Mr Javid’s resignation follows rumours of tensions between him and the prime minister's senior adviser Dominic Cummings. He said his advisers had worked ‘incredibly hard’, and he could not agree to them being replaced. ‘I felt I was left with no option but to resign’, he said, adding that Mr Sunak and the rest of the government retained his ‘full support’. Downing Street said there would now be a joint team of economic advisers for both the chancellor and prime minister. For full details of Mr Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle, see