Justine Greening Quits Cabinet As Theresa May's Reshuffle Leaves Most Senior Ministers In Place

Chaotic start to shake-up sees wrong party chairman announced.
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Justine Greening has dramatically quit the cabinet after reportedly turning down Theresa May’s attempt to move her from education secretary to work and pensions secretary.

Greening spent over two hours inside No.10 Downing Street on Monday evening as the prime minister’s reshuffle plan appeared to be derailed.

May’s relaunch got off to a chaotic start after the Conservative Party accidentally tweeted that Chris Grayling was the new party chairman when the job had actually been given to Brandon Lewis.

The prime minister had been expected to stage a sizable shake-up, but most of her senior ministers have stayed put.

Chancellor Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson have all remained in post.

Jeremy Hunt has unexpectedly kept his job as health secretary and Greg Clark has stayed in post as business secretary.

In one big promotion, Esther McVey, a former employment minister, has been appointed work and pensions secretary after Greening was said to have rejected the position.

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Theresa May with her new party chairman Brandon Lewis and deputy chairman James Cleverly.
Bloomberg via Getty Images

It had been widely speculated that Hunt could be moved sideways to a different department.

However he remains in post with the new title of secretary of state for health and social care in the rebranded Department of Health and Social Care.

May’s decision comes amid severe winter pressures on the NHS which have seen thousands of operations postponed.

David Lidington has been appointed to the powerful role of Cabinet Office minister - replacing Damian Green who resigned last month amid allegations about pornography on his computer and sexual harassment.

Lidington will stand in for May at PMQs when she is away. However he will not inherit Green’s title of first secretary of state.

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David Lidington has taken over Damian Green's job as Cabinet Office minister.
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Former Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke has replaced Lidington as justice secretary.

Damian Hinds has replaced Greening as education secretary.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, paid tribute to Greening, who also held the equalities minister job.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow education secretary, also had warm words for her opposite number.

James Brokenshire resigned as Northern Ireland secretary due to ill health and has been replaced by Karen Bradley.

Matt Hancock, the former digital minister, has been promoted to replace Bradley as culture secretary.

Sajid Javid has kept his job as communities secretary in a renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Liam Fox remains International Trade Secretary and President of the Board of Trade. 

Chris Grayling stays secretary of state for transport. Michael Gove remains environment secretary.

Penny Mordaunt has been reappointed as international development secretary.

In the last appointments that trickled out, Andrea Leadsom was confirmed as remaining as Leader of the House of Commons and Liz Truss stays on as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

May’s revamp of Conservative Party Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) following her election disaster has triggered controversy, after Maria Caulfield, who has spoken against the decriminalisation of abortion, was made Tory vice chair for women.

Jeremy Corbyn attacked May’s Cabinet reshuffle as a “pointless PR exercise” that failed to make up for years of Tory failure.

In a New Year’s address to his MPs, the Labour leader said that the PM had tried to “dodge the real issues” and ridiculed name-changes for Government departments covering health and housing.