Liz Truss has stepped into her new role as Prime Minister, so who are the new Cabinet ministers helping her do the job?
After her visit to Balmoral, Liz Truss has officially taken office as the new PM, and no doubt she has a stack of tasks to deal with already piling up. Her appointment has many asking questions about her, from her home life and whether she has children to her politics such as whether she voted leave or remain.
But she won't be alone in leading the country, as her first order of duty was to assemble her new cabinet. From how many cabinet ministers are there to who'll be taking over each role, we've got all the details on who are the faces of Liz Truss' government.
Who are the new Cabinet ministers?
Taking on the top jobs in the new Cabinet are Kwasi Kwarteng, Therese Coffey, Suella Braverman and James Cleverly. However, there are a total of 29 appointees that Liz Truss has made.
Ahead of the reshuffle, former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries resigned, so are no longer in the Cabinet. Meanwhile, allies of ex-Chancellor and Truss' opponent in the leadership race, Rishi Sunak, have also been left out of the Cabinet. This includes former Deputy PM Dominic Raab, former health secretary Steve Barclay, and former transport secretary Grant Shapps. Read on to find out who has replaced them.
Thanks to the brilliant MoJ team for all their hard work over the last year. Good luck to the new PM and her team. I look forward to supporting the government from the backbenches.September 6, 2022
Kwasi Kwarteng - Chancellor
Previously: Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Kwarteng has been a long-time ally of Liz Truss, and has previously described himself as a 'pragmatic Thatcherite'. He was first elected as the Conservative MP for Spelthorne in 2010, and during his time in Parliament has served as a member of the Transport Select Committee, the Work and Pensions Select Committee, the Public Accounts Committee, and as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
He is taking over from Nadhim Zahawi as Chancellor at a critical time for the UK economy, with the public looking to him for help with the cost of living crisis and soaring energy bills. Taking to Twitter, he said: "[It is] the honour of a lifetime to be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by our new Prime Minister. This evening, we’ve been finalising our package of urgent support to help with energy bills, with an announcement this week."
He will also be delivering the mini budget to help with cost of living.
Therese Coffey - Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary
Previously: Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Therese Coffey was first elected to Parliament in 2010, as Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal. She has a PhD in chemistry and has previously served as deputy leader of the House of Commons, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and a minister of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Coffey has campaigned on stopping the A14 toll, improving NHS experience for patients and better broadband.
She is known in Parliament for being a hard worker, though she is not an uncontroversial figure, having previously said she would "prefer that people didn't have abortions" and suggesting people should work longer hours to make up for her £20 cut to Universal Credit. She also came under fire for clashing with footballer and free school meal campaigner Marcus Rashford.
On Twitter, she offered a look into her approach as health secretary, saying "Patients are my top priority, as we focus on ABCD - ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists."
Suella Braverman - Home Secretary
Previously: Attorney General.
Suella Braverman has been in Parliament since 2015, when she was elected as Conservative MP for Fareham. After gaining a Masters in Law from the University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne she qualified as a New York Attorney and was called to the Bar in 2005, specialising in public law and judicial review. Previously, she has defended the Home Office in immigration cases, the Parole Board in challenges by prisoners and the Ministry of Defence in matters relating to injuries sustained in battle.
Though Braverman was initially a rival of Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race, she was eliminated in the early stages and quickly offered her support to the new PM. On Twitter, she said of her new role: "Great to be at @ukhomeoffice this evening to meet the team as we begin our work: making our streets safer, supporting our security services and controlling immigration."
According to The Guardian, she is expected to position herself to the right of her predecessor, Priti Patel, and wants to sideline the European convention on human rights (ECHR) – which was used to stop the attempted deportation flight to Rwanda.
James Cleverly - Foreign Secretary
Previously: Secretary of State for Education.
Prior to taking over new PM Liz Truss' old role, Cleverly was appointed as education secretary by Boris Johnson after a slew of ministers resigned in protest to his handling of the Chris Pincher scandal. He took over from Michelle Donelan - who held the post for just 35 hours. Donelan has since been appointed as culture secretary.
Since he was first elected as the Conservative MP for Braintree in May 2015, Cleverly has served as a minister for Middle East and North Africa and minister of state in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, meaning he has spent much of the last year working under Liz Truss.
Taking to Twitter, Cleverly said after his appointment "[Great Britain] will continue to work with allies around the world to defend freedom, promote our values, and increase prosperity."
Kit Malthouse - Education Secretary
Previously: Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Another of Boris Johnson's July appointees, Kit Malthouse is replacing Rishi Sunak's ally Steve Barclay as Duchy of Lancaster, after Barclay was appointed as Health Secretary following Sajid Javid's resignation.
Malthouse was elected as Conservative MP for North West Hampshire in 2015, and was deputy mayor for policing when Boris Johnson was Mayor of London. His other previous roles in government include minister of state in the Home Office; minister of state for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service; minister of state in the Ministry of Justice; and parliamentary under-secretary of state for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance at the Department of Work and Pensions.
Though he hasn't yet revealed publicly his goals for education in the UK, he made it clear on twitter what he hopes the new government will achieve, which includes cutting taxes, growing the economy, dealing with the energy crisis, and supporting the NHS.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Transport Secretary
Previously: Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.
Trevelyan was first elected to Parliament in 2015 as the Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and has since served as minister of state at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, secretary of state for International Development, minister of state for the armed forces and minister for Defence Procurement.
She is taking over as transport secretary from Grant Shapps, who has spent the summer in battle with the unions organising the train strikes. On Twitter, she said of her appointment: "I’m thrilled to have been appointed Transport Sec. Transport is crucial to our lives - bringing people together, creating jobs & connecting the UK with the world. Looking forward to getting to work on the many challenges & opportunities transport brings."
Brandon Lewis - Justice Secretary
Previously: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Lewis' other previous roles include minister of state for Security and deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation, while his time as Northern Ireland secretary was spent dealing with the fallout over the Northern Ireland protocol, before he resigned his position in July.
Now, he will have another battle to fight that comes in the form of the ongoing barrister strikes.
On Twitter, he said "I will work tirelessly to protect the public from serious offenders, improve the safety of our prisons, reduce reoffending and deliver swift access to justice for all."
Ben Wallace - Defence Secretary
Previously: Minister of State for Security at the Home Office.
Ben Wallace has kept his position as defence secretary, which he has held since Boris Johnson first became Prime Minister, in July 2019. He is one of the longest-standing MPs in the new cabinet, having first been elected to the UK House of Parliament in 2005 - though he first entered politics as a Member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. He was originally considered a favourite to replace Boris Johnson, but decided not to enter the contest and backed Truss instead.
He has spent the past few months dealing with the war in Ukraine, and said on Twitter "I am delighted to have been reappointed by the new Prime Minister today as Secretary of State for Defence. During the last 3 years the MOD has embarked on a series of reforms and delivered support to Covid, Op Pitting and Ukraine."
Other new Cabinet ministers:
- Business, energy and industrial strategy secretary: Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Environment secretary: Ranil Jayawardena
- COP26 president: Alok Sharma
- Climate minister: Graham Stuart
- Levelling up, housing and communities secretary: Simon Clarke
- Culture secretary: Michelle Donelan
- Trade secretary: Kemi Badenoch
- Minister for Security: Tom Tugendhat
- Armed forces and veterans minister: James Heappey
- Attorney General: Michael Ellis
- Northern Ireland secretary: Chris Heaton-Harris
- Scotland secretary: Alister Jack
- Wales secretary: Robert Buckland
- Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Nadhim Zahawi
- Development minister: Vicky Ford
- Chief whip: Wendy Morton
- Lord president of the council and leader of the House of Commons: Penny Mordaunt
- Lord privy seal, and leader of the House of Lords: Lord True
- Minister without portfolio: Jake Berry
- Chief secretary to the Treasury: Chris Philp
- Paymaster General and minister for the Cabinet Office: Edward Argar
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