Jacob Rees-Mogg has become the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, as Boris Johnson moves to carry out a cabinet reshuffling.
In this period, Mark Spencer replaces Mr. Rees-Mogg as House of Commons leader whereas, Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative member) becomes the new Chief Whip, in charge of disciplining Conservative MPs, some of whom have called for Mr. Johnson’s resignation. Mr Spencer, previously the Chief Whip, will continue to attend parliamentary proceedings.
The decision comes as the Prime Minister is under pressure over parties in Downing Street during the UKs COVID-19 lockdown and restriction period. As a result, Mr. Johnson is meeting with ministers inside No.10.
The Prime Minister has already changed many of his advisers and other No.10 staff, as he attempts to reorganize the government’s operation.
At the sub-cabinet level, Stuart Andrew (parliamentary member) moves from being Deputy Chief Whip to the position of Housing Minister.
Responding to the reshuffle, Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, said the Prime Minister should instead focus on “an inflation crisis created in Downing Street and supporting the mental health of our children and young people”.
The Labour Deputy Leader further queried, “What was Boris Johnson doing? Reshuffling the deckchairs when he’s already hit an iceberg,” she added.
Senior Civil Servant, Sue Gray, in her report, criticised gatherings that took place in Downing Street during lockdowns in the UK, blaming it on “failures of leadership and judgement.”
In response, Mr Johnson promised a culture change and to consult Conservative MPs more on setting a policy, which could involve prominent roles for Mr Rees-Mogg, Mr Spencer and Mr Heaton-Harris.
Meanwhile, No 10 has said the Prime Minister has no intentions of apologising after falsely claiming that Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, failed to prosecute serial sex offender, Jimmy Savile who served as Director of Public Prosecutions.
As it is, 15 Conservative MPs have called for Mr Johnson to go. If 54 MPs write letters to Sir Graham Brady, Chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee, declaring no confidence in the PM’s leadership, it will trigger a full vote on his future.
If Mr Johnson should lose, there would be a leadership contest, in which Mr. Johnson would be prohibited from running.
At the last cabinet reshuffle in September last year, Nadine Dorries became Culture Secretary and Liz Truss became Foreign Secretary, while Dominic Raab was moved from the Foreign Office to become Deputy Prime Minister.
Pressure from Tory MPs over Downing Street parties resulted in the resignation of four senior aides to Boris Johnson.
The resignees included Head of Policy at No.10, Munira Mirza, who worked for Boris Johnson for 14 years, even as Mayor of London. She was regarded as one of the PM’s most trusted advisers.
Another, Jack Doyle, worked as a Daily Mail journalist before joining Downing Street. He was reported to have attended one of the Christmas gatherings in December 2020.
Martin Reynolds was a civil servant and worked as Boris Johnson’s Principal Private Secretary. In that role, he headed up the PM’s private office. He was responsible for sending an email invitation to staff inviting them to drinks in the No.10 garden in May 2020.
Dan Rosenfield joined No.10 as Chief of Staff in January 2021 and worked in the Treasury for Former Chancellors, Alistair Darling and George Osborne.
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