Chancellor Philip Hammond held on to his seat in Prime Minster Theresa May’s new year Cabinet reshuffle, which saw no major changes after senior members refused to change jobs, including health secretary Jeremy Hunt who turned down the option to become business secretary
There was another promotion for David Gauke, who moved from the post of chief secretary to the Treasury to head up the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in May’s previous reshuffle after last year’s election. He becomes the new justice secretary and Lord Chancellor, and is believed to be the first solicitor, rather than a judge or barrister, to have held the post.
Education secretary Justine Greening quit the government after turning down the DWP job, which was given to Esther McVey.
Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire unexpectedly resigned, saying he was undergoing major surgery to remove a lesion on his lung. He is to be replaced by Karen Bradley, who was previously at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Bradley is a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser and worked in public practice from 1991 to 2004, first for Deloitte and then for KPMG. In 2004, she became a self-employed fiscal and economic consultant. Bradley rejoined KPMG in 2007, where she remained until shortly before her election to the House of Commons.
There will be further announcements of more junior departmental changes today.
Report by Pat Sweet
