Boris Johnson today warned his new-look 'Brexit Cabinet' that Britain is at a 'pivotal moment' - and vowed that the country will leave the EU by the end of October 'or earlier'.
The incoming PM gathered his team in No10 for the first time this morning after staging an unprecedented bloodbath of Theresa May's government, stripping out 17 of her ministers to create a group willing to go through with No Deal.
Opening the meeting, Mr Johnson told the senior Tories they represented the 'depth and breadth of talent in our extraordinary party'.
'As you all know we have a momentous task ahead of us, at a pivotal moment in our country's history,' he said.
'We are now committed, all of us, to leaving the European Union on October 31 or indeed earlier - no ifs, no buts.
'But we are not going to wait until October 31 to get on with a fantastic new agenda for our country, and that means delivering the priorities of the people.'
Mr Johnson's attempt to stamp his authority on his new government saw him draft in a swathe of key players from the 2016 Vote Leave referendum campaign as advisers - including maverick chief Dominic Cummings.
Hard Brexiteer Dominic Raab was made Foreign Secretary and Mr Johnson's effective deputy, while Tory ERG head Jacob Rees-Mogg was brought to the top table as Commons Leader.
In a sign the pair have finally buried the hatchet after years of psychodrama, Michael Gove was handed responsibility for making sure the UK is ready for a No Deal Brexit on October 31.
Mr Johnson's brother Jo - who once resigned in protest at Mrs May's tough approach on Brexit - has been promoted to universities minister, and will attend Cabinet.
But the new PM faces the threat of revenge from sacked Remainer ministers who have pledged to block No Deal - while critics claimed that the new team showed the Tories had been 'fully taken over by the hard Right'.
Boris Johnson convened his Cabinet for the first time this morning as he told them the UK must leave the EU by October 31. His 33-strong top team was so large that the table in Number 10 was not large enough to accommodate all of them as some were relegated to sitting behind their colleagues. Just one non-politician sits at the Cabinet table: Top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill who is the Cabinet Secretary.
Mr Johnson convened his Cabinet after staging an astonishing bloodbath of Theresa May's government to create a team willing to go through with No Deal
Sajid Javid (left) has been made Chancellor and Julian Smith also survived Boris Johnson's cull as he was appointed Northern Ireland Secretary. Priti Patel was made Home Secretary and Brandon Lewis became Immigration Minister
In a speech in Downing Street yesterday after being installed as premier by the Queen, Mr Johnson repeated his pledge to take Britain out of the EU on October 31 come what may.
'The doubters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong again,' he said on the steps of No 10, with his young girlfriend Carrie Symonds looking on.
'The people who bet against Brexit are going to lose their shirts because we are going to restore trust in democracy and we are going to fulfil the repeated promises of parliament to the people and come out of the EU on October 31, no ifs, no buts. Never mind the backstop, the buck stops here.'
In a 75-minute sacking spree, Mr Johnson fired 11 Cabinet ministers, including his leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, who had refused to accept a demotion.
A further six Cabinet ministers resigned before they could be pushed, including Philip Hammond, David Gauke and David Lidington.
The clear-out of 17 ministers easily eclipsed Harold Macmillan's 'Night of the long knives' in 1962, when he sacked seven members of the Cabinet.
Tory MP Nigel Evans, who is a supporter of Mr Johnson, said it was 'not so much a reshuffle as a summer's day massacre'.
The new PM's team have all had to sign up to his October 31 pledge.
Sajid Javid became the UK's first Asian Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a brief to start work immediately on plans for an emergency budget to cushion the blow of a chaotic split from the EU.
Former Brexit secretary Mr Raab replaces Mr Hunt as Foreign Secretary and was also made First Secretary of State, effectively making him Mr Johnson's deputy.
Mr Gove was forgiven for sabotaging Mr Johnson's 2016 leadership campaign and was rewarded with a key post running the Cabinet Office.
He will co-ordinate government policy and take charge of contingency plans for No Deal.
Priti Patel was made Home Secretary two years after she was sacked for failing to inform Mrs May about clandestine meetings with senior members of the Israeli government.
Before the reshuffle, Mrs May left No 10 for the last time with a pointed warning against No Deal, urging her successor to deliver an agreement that would 'deliver for the whole UK'.
The mass sackings last night led to warnings that Mr Johnson would find it even harder to drive through his ambitious agenda.
One former minister said: 'He's got a majority of two and he's just sacked 17 of us. I'm going to take the summer off and see what he does, but if I have to do my democratic duty to stop him doing something suicidal then I will not hesitate.'
Mr Johnson's decision to sack Mr Hunt came just 24 hours after he hailed his rival as an 'absolutely formidable campaigner, a great leader and a great politician'. Sources said he was determined to remove his rival from the Foreign Office because he wanted to 'reset' the relationship with Donald Trump and felt Mr Hunt was too hostile.
Mr Hunt was offered the job of defence secretary, but said he would stay only if he was made chancellor, home secretary or deputy PM. Mr Johnson refused and sacked him in his Commons office.
The dismissal completed a near total clear-out of Mr Hunt's campaign team, with Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox and Karen Bradley also out. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd was allowed to stay after dropping her opposition to No Deal.
The full Cabinet line-up was confirmed by No10 today following an extraordinary clear-out after Mr Johnson became PM
Mr Johnson was seen outside Downing Street after Cabinet as he prepared to face the Commons for the first time at lunchtime
Esther McVey (left) made a comeback to the Cabinet, as did Andrea Leadsom who becomes the Business Secretary
A government source denied Mr Johnson was taking revenge on his rivals, saying the sackings had been conducted in an 'amicable way'. He added: 'This is about a new PM building a team that is agreed on the need to deliver Brexit in a short time frame and recognises that as part of that we are going to have to turbocharge No Deal planning.'
One ally said last night: 'This was business, not pleasure.'
But another backer of the new Prime Minister said: 'We are clearing out the dead wood and the faint hearts. Frankly, this was a useless administration and it is getting what it deserved.'
Sir Craig Oliver, David Cameron's former communications chief, said Mr Johnson's reshuffle showed 'he isn't someone who is looking to compromise and, more importantly, is preparing to go to the country if things don't go his way. Very high risk – possible high reward'. Former Tory minister Nick Boles accused Mr Johnson of conducting a purge of the party's moderate voices.
'The hard right has taken over the Conservative Party,' he said. 'Thatcherites, libertarians and No Deal Brexiters control it top to bottom. Liberal One Nation Conservatives have been ruthlessly culled.
'Only a few neutered captives are being kept on as window dressing. The takeover that started in local constituency parties is now complete.
'The Brexit Party has won the war without electing a single MP. Boris Johnson isn't our new Prime Minister; Nigel Farage is.
'The takeover of both main parties by ideologues creates an opportunity for something new and different. Out of decay will spring new shoots.'
Theresa Villiers (left) is back in the Cabinet as Environment Secretary. Nicky Morgan made a return as Culture Secretary in a rare bright spot for the Tory Remain wing
James Cleverly (pictured left) has been promoted to Tory chairman, and Alister Jack (right) replaced David Mundell as Scottish Secretary
Who is who in Boris Johnson's new-look Brexit Cabinet
Sajid Javid outside the Treasury today
Sajid Javid: Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sajid Javid's 18-year banking career that saw him rise to be a £3m-a-year board member at Deutsche Bank will stand him in good stead as he takes the reins of the UK economy.
The Remainer, who backed a hard Brexit during the Tory leadership campaign, is the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver who arrived in the UK in 1961 with just £1 in his pocket.
Javid, 49, was raised on Stapleton Road in Bristol, which was once dubbed ‘Britain’s worst street’ and described as a ‘lawless hellhole where murder, rape, shootings, drug-pushing, prostitution, knifings and violent robbery are commonplace’.
After attending state school and Exeter University he went on to become an investment banker for nearly two decades.
He has spoken about having mixed-race children with wife Laura and the racism he faced as a child, before politics and also when he joined the Conservative Party.
Mr Javid ran against Mr Johnson in the Tory leadership campaign, eventually finishing fourth. He is the most senior Remain voter in the Government.
After becoming Home Secretary last year, he made a push for No. 10 on the back of Theresa May's resignation. But after being knocked out of the leadership race, he moved swiftly to back Mr Johnson and was widely tipped as the top choice to move to number 11.
Priti Patel in Downing Street today
Priti Patel: Home Secretary
The Essex MP - who was once an outspoken proponent of the death penalty - has made a remarkable return to the Cabinet after being sacked by Theresa May for lying.
The mother-of-one is back two years after being forced to resign over secret meetings with Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The 47-year-old Brexiteer became infamous in 2011 when she called for hanging to be reintroduced during her first appearance on Question Time, calling capital punishment a 'deterrent'.
Mrs Patel’s Ugandan-Indian family arrived penniless in Britain in 1972.
They were forced to abandon a fortune in tea and coffee plantations as they fled the military dictator Idi Amin.
Her father, Sushil - which is also her middle name - ditched plans to go to university and opened a corner shop in Tottenham, North London, with his wife Anjana and his parents.
Mrs Patel, who has been married to marketing consultant Alex Sawyer since 2004, lived above the shop and worked most mornings behind the counter before school.
She was educated at a comprehensive school in Watford, joined the Tory party at 17 and studied economics at Keele University.
A former PR and policy adviser for drinks multinational Diageo she went on to work for the Conservative Party before being picked for her very safe seat in 2010.
After a spell working for the Conservative Party under former leader William Hague, the MP for Witham became a lobbyist for cigarette companies.
Mrs Patel was humiliatingly forced to resign from the PM's top team in November 2017 after the secret meetings with Israeli officials emerged.
Dominic Raab, a karate black belt, is married without any children to Erika (together), a Brazilian-born marketing executive
Dominic Raab: Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State
The MP for Esher and Walton worked as an in-house lawyer for the Foreign Office in 2000 has now returned as head of the department.
The former grammar school boy, born to a Czech Jewish father who fled the Nazis in 1938 to Britain as a refugee before the Second World War, helped bring war criminals to justice in The Hague during his first stint in the Foreign Office.
Mr Raab is a karate black belt and former boxing blue at Oxford University in 1995. The 45-year-old is married without any children to Erika, a Brazilian-born marketing executive who was wheeled out for photoshoots in his leadership campaign.
During the campaign he described how his father Peter fled the Nazis and came to Britain aged six as he accused Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell of not standing up for 'free and tolerant democracy' that welcomed his dad.
His father learned English, worked for M&S as a food manager and met his mother Jean, who was from Bromley, Kent. He died when Dominic was 12 after losing his battle with cancer.
It's a major promotion for Mr Raab, who has just four months experience in the Cabinet after a stint as Brexit Secretary last year.
He stood in the Tory leadership race on a hardcore Brexiteer ticket even harder than Mr Johnson. But after being knocked out he quickly backed his former rival and supported him in his campaign.
Mr Raab is in favour of a No Deal Brexit and replaces Jeremy Hunt. He will step into immediate fire with an ongoing diplomatic spat with Iran.
Michael Gove in Downing Street today
Michael Gove: Cabinet Office Minister
Seasoned minister Michael Gove who blazed a trail as a reformer in departments across Whitehall has been handed a role at the heart of government.
The adopted son of Aberdeen fishworkers already has four Cabinet jobs under his belt - heading education, justice and environment departments as well as a stint as chief whip.
While in charge of the nation's schools under David Cameron, the Brexiteer pushed through a series of controversial reforms to the curriculum and axed the Building Schools for the Future programme.
But he was criticised most for introducing Free Schools – state funded schools which are exempt from teaching the National Curriculum.
Critics claim the schools take money and pupils from existing schools, increase segregation and division and lead to the break-up of the state school system.
As Environment Secretary he championed a war on plastic - introducing charges for plastic bags and doing away with single-use straws and cups.
He was a firm backer of Theresa May's Brexit deal to the last, which damaged him in the eyes of the more purist Brexiteer elements.
Mr Gove had a tilt at the Tory leadership but came undone when revelations about his past drug use were revealed.
He admitted using cocaine when he was younger after it came to light in an unauthorised biography.
Mr Gove, 51, is a former Times journalist, 51, who has two children with newspaper columnist Sarah Vine. Mr Gove indicated that his drive to be prime minister is fuelled by a desire to show his parents they were right to take the 'risk' of adopting him.
Mr Wallace in Downing Street today
Ben Wallace: Defence Secretary
The former military hero who served in the Scots Guard and was mentioned in dispatches in 1992 has been named Defence Secretary.
The 51-year-old attended Sandhurst military academy after a short stint as a ski instructor and served for eight years in Northern Ireland.
The Remainer rose to the rank of captain and was mentioned in dispatches in 1992 after an incident involving a terrorist cell.
Mr Wallace - who also served in Cyprus, Germany and Central America - has been married to Liza since 2001 and they have three children.
He makes the step up to the Cabinet after spending three years as security minister - during which the country has battled a spate of major terror attacks.
His first call to action in his new role will be bringing about the return of the British ship seized by Iranian forces last week.
Mr Johnson has suggested he wants to boost defence spending and build more naval ships to protect UK-flagged vessels in the Gulf.
Gavin Williamson was sacked as defence secretary in May after leaking secret details of a meeting about Huawei
Gavin Williamson: Education Secretary
The state-educated South Staffordshire MP, who studied social sciences at the University of Bradford, has made an astonishing return to the Cabinet.
The former Defence Secretary was sacked just three months ago for leaking secrets from a National Security Council meeting.
But he was given the job of overseeing the nation's schools as a 'thank you' from Boris for helping to mastermind his leadership campaign.
Mr Williamson has been dubbed the Cabinet's Private Pike, after the hapless Dad's Army character, for a series of gaffes while in the Cabinet.
His appointment comes just months after it appeared his political career seemed over when he narrowly escaped prosecution under the Official Secrets Act for the leak.
While Defence Secretary in 2018, the father-of-two confessed to a fling that at one time threatened to end his marriage with wife Joanne.
Not long after being promoted from Tory chief whip he admitted to a brief office romance with a former colleague. He said it was ‘a dreadful mistake’ but Joanne had forgiven him.
Mr Williamson, 43, who was made Defence Secretary following the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon over sexual harassment claims, insisted the relationship had not gone beyond kissing ‘a couple of times’.
It occurred before he embarked on a career in politics but he is understood to have revealed details to party officials when he first ran for selection as an MP more than a decade ago.
Mat Hancock remains as Health Secretaty
Matt Hancock: Health and Social Care Secretary
Matt Hancock stays in one of the hardest job in government despite aiming volleys of criticism at Mr Johnson while running against him for the leadership.
He told an interviewer 'f*ck f*ck Business' after the new Prime Minister's much criticised reaction to firms' No Deal Brexit fears.
But the married father of three, 40, did a superb reverse ferret to become one of Mr Johnson's chief cheerleaders.
This included reportedly trying to block the release of a paper he commissioned which recommended taxes on milkshakes because it ran contrary to his new boss's opposition to 'sin taxes'.
He also poked fun at himself during the campaign after being caught on camera wolfing down a high-sugar stroopwafel ahead of an early-morning TV interview.
Last year he was accused of breaking ethics rules after he praised a private health firm app in a newspaper article sponsored by its maker.
But he has since made some hard-hitting interventions in areas like the impact of social media on health.
In May he joined Ms Mordaunt in backing the Generation Why? report showing that the Tories needed to become more relevant to younger voters.
He called on the party to change its 'tone' towards modern Britain or face Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, in a speech widely seen as setting out his leadership credentials.
Jo Johnson entering No 10 last night where he was made Universities Minister
Jo Johnson: Universities Minister
Mr Johnson's acceptance of a ministerial post appears to mark an abrupt volte-face from November, when he shared a platform at a Remainer rally with television presenter and ex-footballer Gary Lineker.
The Orpington MP, 47, in the younger brother of the Prime Minister and also an Old Etonian. He is married to the Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman.
His appointment to Universities Minister means he will attend the hardline Brexiteer-dominated administration formed in a bloodbath of the ministries throughout the course of Wednesday.
The role comes under the jurisdiction of two departments, Education and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Both of them are now led by hardline Leavers in Andrea Leadsom and Gavin Williamson.
He quit as a transport minister in November saying that Theresa May's Brexit deal was a massive failure in British statecraft on the scale of the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Talking about the original 2016 EU referendum at the November People's Vote rally in London Mr Johnson said: 'I think it's fair to say that back then we didn't really know what it would entail, the ramifications of leaving the European Union.
'It's becoming clear that there are very few positives. It's almost unanimous that people think it will have some sort of debilitating effect on our economy, at the very least. I think it's very rare in life that you get to use the benefit of hindsight.'
But he was quick to fall in behind his brother when he announced his run for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
He accompanied Boris to a garden centre during a visit to his suburban London constituency and was present along with the rest of the Johnson clan when he was made leader on Tuesday.
Alok Sharma in Downing Street today as he attended his first Cabinet meeting
Alok Sharma: International Development Secretary
An ardent and long-time supporter of Boris Johnson, Alok Sharma was widely tipped before the reshuffle to finally make it to the Cabinet.
He was frequently sent out to bat for Mr Johnson during the Tory leadership campaign and his hard work was rewarded as he was last night made Rory Stewart's successor at the Department for International Development.
It will be a big step up for Mr Sharma who only started his ministerial career in July 2016 in the wake of the EU referendum having first become an MP way back in 2010 when he won the seat of Reading West from the Labour Party.
He had a relatively low profile in Theresa May's government but did hit the headlines when he was housing minister in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Residents affected by the fire confronted Mr Sharma in June 2017 as they demanded to know why more had not been done by the government to help rehouse people who had been made homeless by the tragic blaze.
His promotion to the Cabinet will surprise many given his support for numerous big policies which his new boss is known to be cool on.
For example, Mr Sharma is a big backer of the High Speed 2 railway line and Heathrow expansion.
Mr Johnson is believed to be considering scrapping the former while his opposition to the latter is well known.
Mr Sharma also voted to Remain at the 2016 referendum but his loyalty to Mr Johnson was apparently enough to overcome policy differences and opposite votes on Brexit to get him into the Cabinet.
The 51-year-old was a chartered accountant and then a banker before he entered parliament, representing the area where he grew up.
He was born in India but moved to Reading with his parents at the age of five. He is married and has two daughters.
link
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/new-pm-holds-first-cabinet-meeting-and-tells-ministers-uk-must-leave-the-eu-by-halloween/
News Photo New PM holds first Cabinet meeting and tells ministers UK MUST leave the EU by Halloween
Advertising
You don’t have to pack away your dress just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/07/25/12/16486924-7284417-image-a-131_1564053072837.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий