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HomePoliticsLiz Truss chooses an elite squad; see who's in and who's out.

Liz Truss chooses an elite squad; see who’s in and who’s out.

Therese Coffey is the new health secretary and deputy prime minister, while James Cleverly is the new foreign secretary.

After receiving a formal request from the Queen to form a new government, Liz Truss began appointing her cabinet.

Shortly after making her first address as prime minister, Ms. Truss’ new cabinet began to take shape.

Formerly the business secretary for Boris Johnson, Kwasi Kwarteng has been confirmed as the new chancellor.

Liz truss chooses an elite squad; see who's in and who's out.
Newly elected leader of the conservative party liz truss is greeted by queen elizabeth ii’s equerry lieutenant colonel tom white and her private secretary sir edward young as she arrives at balmoral for an audience with queen elizabeth ii where she will be invited to become prime minister and form a new government, in aberdeenshire, scotland, tuesday, sept. 6, 2022. (andrew milligan/pool photo via ap)

In a social media post, he referred to his appointment as “a once-in-a-lifetime honor.”

He succeeds Nadhim Zahawi, who assumed the position when his predecessor Rishi Sunak resigned, citing “fundamentally too dissimilar” views to the economy in his resignation letter to Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Kwarteng, the Eton-educated son of Ghanaian immigrants, only assumed his first cabinet position this year, but he has been Ms. Truss’s long-term ally since they both entered the House of Commons in 2010.

On the day of the Tory leadership race, Mr. Kwarteng wrote in the Financial Times that Ms. Truss’s government will behave “in a fiscally prudent manner” as ministers sought to alleviate the cost of living problem.

Queen 1
Liz truss chooses an elite squad; see who's in and who's out.

Mr. Kwarteng will wield the purse strings at Number 11 and play a vital role in determining how the government chooses to address the country’s present cost of living crisis.

Mr. Kwarteng organized a meeting with the chief executives of financial institutions, including Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, and NatWest Group, mere hours after assuming his new position.

He will meet with the heads of the banks on Wednesday as he attempts to regain control of the faltering British economy.

The former work and pensions secretary has been promoted to the health secretary and deputy prime minister as a reward for her allegiance to Ms. Truss.

Ms. Coffey rose through the ranks of the government under former prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson; but, as one of Ms. Truss’s closest political friends, she is now in charge of addressing the escalating difficulties facing the NHS and social care sector.

She followed Ms. Truss into CCHQ yesterday when the result of the Tory leadership battle was announced and headed the incoming Prime Minister’s leadership campaign.

Ms. Truss and Ms. Coffey have been close friends since they both ran for a parliamentary seat in 2009 – Ms. Truss won the Norfolk seat they both sought, while Ms. Coffey won the neighboring Suffolk Coastal seat.

According to reports published on Monday, Ms. Coffey has already received briefings on the NHS from senior civil workers at the Department of Health.

In 2020, when Dominic Raab was put in command of the country while Boris Johnson was hospitalized with COVID, the significance of the post of deputy prime minister became clear.

James Cleverly, a fellow loyalist of Mr. Johnson and a former Foreign Office minister for two years, has been appointed to the position of foreign secretary.

He replaces Ms. Truss, who never resigned from her position before her successful campaign for party leadership.

When Ms. Truss was foreign secretary, Mr. Cleverly served as her de facto deputy.

Mr. Cleverly, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, was one of three individuals designated education secretary in the final three days of Mr. Johnson’s administration.

Suella Braverman, a former attorney general, has been named as home secretary.

After being removed from the contest, Ms. Braverman, another former candidate for the leadership, endorsed Ms. Truss.

She succeeds Priti Patel, who on Monday evening announced her intention to quit after three years as head of the Home Office.

Ms. Braverman was a supporter of her predecessor’s Rwanda plan, stating that she had “significant reservations about our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights” following the European court’s decision that effectively grounded the first flight aiming to send asylum seekers out of the United Kingdom earlier this summer.

Sir Michael Ellis, a former cabinet office minister, and paymaster general takes the role of attorney general vacated by Ms. Braverman.

Ben Wallace will continue to serve as defense secretary, a role he has held since 2019.

Mr. Wallace supported the incoming prime minister’s candidacy to become party leader and is a Tory member favorite.

He was expected to be a frontrunner for the leadership position, but he decided against running.

Mr. Wallace has garnered plaudits for his handling of the Ukraine conflict and is regarded favorably by Conservative lawmakers.

He was also praised for directing the evacuation of Afghan refugees.

Former minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has been promoted to the business secretary.

The position became vacant when Mr. Kwarteng was promoted to the chancellor.

Mr. Rees-Mogg has been an outspoken proponent of worker rights reform, and in recent months he has spearheaded a campaign to discourage civil servants from working from home.

His nomination is more evidence that Ms. Truss recognizes the need of retaining Mr. Johnson’s supporters.

However, the proposal is unlikely to be well received by the unions, as Mr. Rees-Mogg previously referred to striking railway workers as “selfish.”

Regarding the net zero strategies of the previous administration, Mr. Rees-Mogg has also voiced reservations about “climate alarmism.”

In recent days, Mr. Rees-Mogg reportedly held discussions with oil corporations in preparation for assuming the enormous task of resolving the energy issue.

Brandon Lewis, the former secretary for Northern Ireland, was promoted to the position of justice secretary as a reward for his backing of Ms. Truss.

Mr. Lewis responded to his nomination by stating: “I look forward to collaborating with Liz Truss and government colleagues on the numerous serious issues we confront.

“I will fight tirelessly to protect the public from dangerous criminals, enhance the security of our jails, minimize recidivism, and ensure that everyone has prompt access to justice.”

Mr. Lewis has already held cabinet positions under both Mr. Johnson and Mrs. May. He replaces former justice secretary Dominic Raab, who was the first to announce his resignation from the front bench this afternoon.

Former Treasury secretary Simon Clarke’s allegiance to Ms. Truss has landed him the position of housing and communities minister, replacing Michael Gove.

Mr. Clarke, the representative for Middlesbrough, has prior experience in the field, having served as minister for the regional economy.

Chris Philp, who has held multiple government positions in various departments including justice, the home office, and culture, media, and sport, succeeds Mr. Clarke at the Treasury.

Kit Malthouse, former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister of public safety, has been appointed education secretary.

Mr. Malthouse was a close associate of Mr. Johnson, but he supported Ms. Truss in her campaign to become the next leader of the Conservative Party.

Wendy Morton, the former minister of transport, has been appointed whip and will also serve in the cabinet.

She was an assistant government whip under former prime minister Theresa May from 2018 to 2019. She is the first female Conservative to assume the position.

Former chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris assumes responsibility for Northern Ireland.

Robert Buckland retains his position as secretary of state for Wales, while Alister Jack retains his position as secretary of state for Scotland.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who worked closely with Liz Truss when she was international trade secretary in Mr. Johnson’s administration and Ms. Truss was in charge of foreign affairs, has been appointed transport secretary.

Ms. Trevelyan will likely be thrown into the deep end due to the scheduled train worker strikes in the fall.

Meanwhile, Michelle Donelan, who briefly served as education secretary during the final days of Mr. Johnson’s administration, will become culture secretary.

She replaces Nadine Dorries, who resigned despite stating that Ms. Truss had offered her the chance to remain in her job.

Nadhim Zahawi, a former chancellor with a brief tenure, has been appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and will lead the Cabinet Office.

Ms. Truss has already voiced her desire to shrink the size of the Cabinet Office as part of a larger aim to eliminate centralized authority.

Mr. Zahawi has also been designated minister for intergovernmental relations, a position created for Michael Gove, which means he will be in regular contact with Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, and Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales.

In addition, he has been appointed minister for equality.

Penny Mordaunt, a past candidate for the Conservative leadership, has also been nominated to a position in Ms. Truss’s government: leader of the House of Commons.

Ms. Mordaunt supported Ms. Truss after being eliminated in the last round of elimination.

She will succeed former commons leader Mark Spencer and was the early bookmakers’ favorite and the darling of party activists, according to many polls conducted throughout the leadership race.

Ms. Mordaunt was previously defense secretary and international development secretary in Mrs. May’s administration.

Lord True, a Conservative life peer, has been chosen for the position of leader of the House of Lords.

Jake Berry, the head of the Northern Research Group of Members of Parliament, has been appointed as chairman of the Conservative Party.

The decision is likely to be interpreted as a significant indication that Ms. Truss intends to maintain her predecessor Mr. Johnson’s promises of escalation.

Kemi Badenoch’s success in the Conservative leadership contest has landed her the position of foreign trade secretary.

She has served in both the Treasury and the Equalities Office in the past.

Chloe Smith, a former Cabinet Office minister, has been promoted to work and pensions secretary following the promotion of Ms. Coffey to the health secretary and deputy prime minister.

As a result of his support for Ms. Truss, Ranil Jayawardena has been appointed environment secretary, replacing George Eustice, who has returned to the Conservative back benches.

Alok Sharma has been invited to continue as COP president ahead of COP27, the November United Nations climate change summit to be held in Egypt.

While Edward Argar, an additional passionate supporter of Ms. Truss’s campaign for leadership, becomes paymaster general and cabinet office minister.

Who’s going?

Some members of Mr. Johnson’s cabinet who supported Ms. Truss’s competitor for the premiership, Mr. Sunak, declared they would not be part of her senior team before the new PM announces cabinet selections.

Alongside Mr. Raab, who stated that he would “support the government from the back benches,” former transport minister Grant Shapps announced his cabinet resignation and pledged to be “a strong, independent voice” from the back benches.

Steve Barclay, who most recently served as health secretary and has also held positions in the Treasury and Cabinet Office, indicated that he will not be a part of Ms. Truss’s ministry.

As did Greg Clark, who remarked that he had “enormously” enjoyed his time as secretary.

Former environment secretary George Eustice confirmed his resignation by pledging to “provide scrutiny” from the backbench.

Johnny Mercer, Mr. Johnson’s minister of veterans’ affairs, expressed his regret at being released from his government duties “.

While former Northern Ireland secretary Shailesh Vara and former Conservative Party chairman Andrew Stephenson also announced on social media that they will not be a member of Ms. Truss’s top team, Ms. Truss’s team will be comprised of the following individuals:

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