ALISTER Jack clung onto his job as Scottish Secretary during the Prime Minister’s major Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, while a number of recognisable faces were shown the door.
It had been rumoured that the Prime Minister was planning to sack the Dumfries and Galloway MP in his first Cabinet reshuffle since winning the December General Election – but Jack walked away unscathed.
The likes of Esther McVey, Andrea Leadsom and Julian Smith were not so lucky, as they were fired from the roles of housing minister, business secretary and Northern Ireland secretary respectively.
The shake-up became more dramatic later with a shock resignation from Sajid Javid, who quit his role as chancellor over new conditions from Johnson. Javid, who had only been in the role since July last year and has not delivered a Budget, was told staying on as chancellor would involve firing all of his advisers.
Javid’s resignation came amid rumours of tensions between the MP and Boris Johnson’s chief political strategist Dominic Cummings. Asked if the caveat had been requested by Cummings, Javid said only: “Those were the conditions requested by the Prime Minister.”
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The vacant position was then filled by Richmond MP Rishi Sunak, formerly chief secretary to the Treasury.
Javid wished his successor, Johnson and the Tory Government well but, speaking for the first time since his resignation, added: “I don’t believe any self-respecting minister would accept such conditions.”
He told reporters why he objected to the conditions, explaining: “These are people that have worked incredibly hard – on behalf of not just the Government but the whole country – and done a fantastic job.”
There will now be a joint set of economic advisers for the Treasury and Number 10, giving Johnson and Cummings further control in Westminster.
After the surprise loss of the chancellor, concerns surfaced over whether the UK Government would be able to present its Budget on March 11 as planned.
In a cheeky reference to her own last-minute Budget presentation last week, which received cross-party praise, Scotland’s Public Finance Minister Kate Forbes tweeted: “Need a hand with the budget? #HappyToHelp”.
READ MORE: Kate Forbes had the perfect response to Sajid Javid's resignation
Elsewhere, Alok Sharma was appointed Business Secretary – and made chair of the UN’s COP26 climate change summit, due to be hosted by the city of Glasgow in November. Cummings’s sacking of the event’s former chair sparked concerns over the summit, with the fired Claire Perry O’Neill suggesting Johnson’s personal animosity towards the First Minister was endangering the major talks.
It is expected to be the most important climate change event since the Paris Agreement of 2015.
Sharma’s appointment sparked concerns when it emerged he had previously found himself in hot water while serving as employment minister for failing to visit Scotland during the Universal Credit roll-out.
The Scottish Greens also raised the issue of Sharma’s environmental voting record, warning that he had “repeatedly voted against climate action” in the Commons.
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Despite rumours of a new Minister for the Union being appointed in the shake-up, there was no sign this was an urgent appointment yesterday as the role went unfilled. The title, which Johnson appointed himself in July before swiftly giving it up before the election, is expected to go to current Minister for the Constitution Chloe Smith.
The Kent-born Tory MP recently defended the UK Government’s decision not to invite Scottish media to a Downing Street press briefing on the post-Brexit relationship between the EU and UK, arguing they weren’t needed as national press were in attendance.
Other new appointments included Suella Braverman as Attorney General after Geoffrey Cox was shown the door. The passionate Brexiteer has been vocal about the Government “taking back control” from interfering judiciary.
Theresa Villiers was also sacked as environment secretary, though this role was not filled before The National went to print.
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