Staff applaud as Britain’s new Prime Minister Theresa May, and her husband Philip, walk into 10 Downing Street after May had met Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace, in central London, Britain on July 13, 2016. Ms May was also compared to Margaret Thatcher, who purged moderate Tories she dubbed “the wets” from her Cabinet in 1981.
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Theresa May stamped her authority on the new Government by carrying out a ruthless reshuffle in which she exiled key figures from the Cameron era while promoting her own allies.
The biggest surprise of May’s cabinet so far has been the appointment of Johnson, until recently seen as her top rival for prime minister.
The White House is pushing back on suggestions that her selection of Boris Johnson as foreign minister will be problematic for the U.S. Johnson had previously described Obama as a “part-Kenyan” who had an “ancestral dislike of the British empire”.
It emerged Thursday that May had effectively fired Osborne by saying that she did not want him in her front bench cabinet team.
May served as home secretary – in effect, minister of the interior – for six years and as a member of Parliament for 19 years. Sticky business. In addition, two pieces of the United Kingdom, Scotland and Northern Ireland, voted not to leave the European Union and are now thinking about succession from the U.K., another problem for May.
Gove was replaced as Justice Secretary by Liz Truss while Education Secretary Nicky Morgan was also fired and replaced by the former global development secretary Justine Greening.
Surprisingly, Jeremy Hunt kept his job as Health Secretary despite his bitter dispute with the junior doctors over their new contract.
Chris Grayling, who ran May’s leadership campaign, has also won a cabinet role as Secretary of State for Transport.
A series of high profile ministers have either resigned, including Chancellor George Osborne, or been banished to the backbenches as Mrs May asserts herself in her new role.
Despite the suddenness of Cameron’s exit – less than three weeks after the June 23 referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union – he appeared relaxed and confident as he absorbed both praise and carping from opposition lawmakers.
On BBC radio today he said: “The trade negotiators who are Brits at the moment are basically working for the European Union”.
Americans must congratulate the British Conservative Party in its quick choice of Theresa May as prime minister in the wake of the vote June 23 to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union.
The White House says he told May on Thursday that the USA was committed to deepening the US relationship with the U.K. Obama told her he looks forward to working with her during his final six months in office.
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Meanwhile away from intense media spotlight, the troubles continue for the main opposition Labour Party over its leadership battle.
