UK Politics

Theresa May's cabinet: Who's in and who's out?

Theresa May has formed her new government after the Conservatives lost their majority in the general election.

The prime minister's room for manoeuvre in the reshuffle was limited when her party was left with 318 MPs and Labour had 262.

Here's what we know so far. The list will be updated as new appointments are made.


Prime Minister - Theresa May

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Theresa May stays as prime minister despite not achieving the mandate for Brexit she had called the election for. The UK's second female PM took up the role after David Cameron resigned in the wake of the EU referendum result.

She had previously been home secretary for six years.

Theresa May: Full profile


Election 2017: Key points at-a-glance


First Secretary of State - Damian Green

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Damian Green has been promoted to a new role the prime minister did not have in her first cabinet - that of first secretary of state. As the same time he also replaces Ben Gummer as minister for the Cabinet Office after Mr Gummer lost his seat in the election.

The move effectively makes the former work and pensions secretary, a friend and ally of Theresa May, her second in command. It could see Mr Green standing in for Mrs May at PMQs when she is not available.

The role - which was previously held by George Osborne and, under Labour, Peter Mandelson - gives Mr Green seniority over other cabinet ministers.


Chancellor of the Exchequer - Philip Hammond

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Philip Hammond remains as chancellor of the exchequer. He was foreign secretary under David Cameron from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as defence secretary and transport secretary.

Mr Hammond, 61, is seen at Westminster as the ultimate safe pair of hands steering Britain's economy through the post-Brexit period ahead.

Sometimes mocked as "box office Phil" for what some see as his dull delivery, he forged a reputation in the shadow Treasury team as the Tories' public spending "axeman".


Foreign Secretary - Boris Johnson

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No change at the Foreign Office as Boris Johnson keeps his job. Despite hints from some of the newspapers that Mr Johnson, 52, may turn his hand to trying to lead the party, he has categorically dismissed such claims.

Mr Johnson said that while the public would be wondering about the future of the current government, Mrs May had got the biggest Conservative mandate anyone had achieved for decades.

"I'm going to be backing her, and absolutely everybody I'm talking to is going to be backing her as well."


Home Secretary - Amber Rudd

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Amber Rudd remains as home secretary despite only narrowly holding her seat as MP for Hastings and Rye. During the election campaign, she stood in for the PM in the BBC's televised debate in May.

Ms Rudd was previously energy and climate change secretary, a position she held for just one year.

The former investment banker, venture capitalist and financial journalist, aged 53, decided to enter politics in her 40s in order to get "a grip on her life".


Secretary of State for Exiting the EU - David Davis

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David Davis keeps his job of secretary of state for exiting the European Union - or "Brexit secretary". The role was created in July to take the lead in negotiating the UK's exit from the EU.

A veteran Eurosceptic, he has previously held the positions of Conservative party chairman and shadow deputy prime minister. Between 2003 and 2008, he was the shadow home secretary under both Michael Howard and David Cameron.

Mr Davis, 68, lost to David Cameron in the 2005 Tory leadership contest.


Defence Secretary - Michael Fallon

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Michael Fallon has kept his job at the Ministry of Defence - a position the 65-year-old has held since 2014.

He was Conservative MP for Darlington from 1983 to 1992 - initially during Margaret Thatcher's time in Downing Street - and after leaving Parliament was later re-elected as MP for Sevenoaks in 1997.

A former Conservative Party deputy chairman, Mr Fallon has previously served as energy and business minister, and before that secretary of state for business and enterprise.


Secretary of State for International Trade - Liam Fox

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Liam Fox, 55, continues as the secretary of state for international trade. He was made secretary of state for defence in 2010 but resigned in 2011 over allegations he had given a close friend, lobbyist Adam Werritty, access to the Ministry of Defence and allowed him to join official trips overseas.

Mr Fox stood in the leadership race against Theresa May but was eliminated in the first ballot after winning the support of just 16 MPs.

He told reporters he was "delighted" to keep the job he has held since July last year.

"It's now time for the whole of the Conservative party to rally behind the prime minister and get a government in the national interest."


Justice Secretary - David Lidington

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Former Leader of the House of Commons David Lidington gets the job of justice secretary, replacing Liz Truss.

He had been Europe Minister since 2010 but moved across to aid the smooth running of the Commons in 2016.

The Cambridge history graduate and father-of-four has been MP for Aylesbury since 1992. He previously worked for BP and mining firm Rio Tinto.


Leader of the House of Lords - Baroness Evans

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Baroness Evans of Bowes Park keeps her job as the leader of the House of Lords. When appointed in 2016, it was her first ministerial role since being ennobled by David Cameron in 2014.

She attended London's Henrietta Barnett School and Cambridge University before becoming deputy director of the Conservative research department, deputy director of the Policy Exchange think-tank and chief operating officer of the New Schools Network - the organisation which ran Michael Gove's free schools programme.


Health Secretary - Jeremy Hunt

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Jeremy Hunt remains in his post despite the problems within the NHS.

He took over the health portfolio following a cabinet reshuffle in 2012, and at the time described the appointment as the "biggest privilege of my life". But in a tweet he admitted there were "challenges ahead, but also huge opportunities to make our NHS even better".

Last year, Mr Hunt was locked in a battle with the British Medical Association over a new contract for junior doctors, which led to a series of strikes.


Education Secretary - Justine Greening

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Justine Greening has kept her roles as education secretary and minister for women and equalities. She is part of the most diverse Parliament yet as she openly defines herself as a lesbian.

At London Pride in 2016, the 48-year-old announced in a tweet she was in a same-sex relationship, saying "I campaigned for Stronger In but sometimes you're better off out!".

Ms Greening replaced Nicky Morgan at education in 2016, leaving her international development secretary post, which she was promoted to in 2011.

She has been MP for Putney since 2005.


Transport Secretary - Chris Grayling

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Chris Grayling remains as transport secretary in Theresa May's cabinet.

The former Leader of the House has been dealing with Southern Rail's disrupted services, the question of Heathrow's third runway and the high speed rail link, HS2.

He also served as shadow transport secretary from December 2005 to 2007.


Culture Secretary - Karen Bradley

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Karen Bradley has kept her role as Culture, Media and Sport Secretary. She had been working with Theresa May as a Home Office minister since 2014.

She was first elected MP for Staffordshire Moorlands in May 2010.


Environment Secretary - Michael Gove

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Michael Gove has made a comeback, with the prime minister bringing him back into cabinet and appointing him environment secretary.

In the 2016 reshuffle he was sacked as justice secretary and before that he served under David Cameron as education secretary and chief whip in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition.

Despite campaigning alongside Boris Johnson for Brexit, he withdrew his support for Mr Johnson to be Conservative leader and prime minister, choosing instead to stand himself. He was eliminated in the final round of voting by MPs, coming third.

Mr Gove's surprise move to stand for the leadership effectively dashed his colleague's hopes of winning and prompted Mr Johnson's withdrawal from the contest.


Work and Pensions Secretary - David Gauke

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A sideways step for David Gauke, with the PM appointing him as the new work and pensions secretary. He was previously the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who attends cabinet but does not have a ministerial role.

Mr Gauke has been the MP for Hertfordshire South West since 2005. He is a qualified solicitor and worked for a leading City firm until he was elected.


Communities Secretary - Sajid Javid

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Sajid Javid keeps his job as secretary of the department for communities and local government.

He held this position in 2014 before being appointed to business secretary a year later.

A former managing director of Deutsche Bank, Mr Javid has been MP for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire since 2010.

He stood on a "joint ticket" with Stephen Crabb for the leadership election, hoping to be chancellor if Mr Crabb had become PM.


Northern Ireland Secretary - James Brokenshire

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James Brokenshire continues as the Northern Ireland Secretary. He previously worked with the PM at the Home Office, where he was immigration minister.

From 2011 to 2015, he served as security minister at the Home Office with responsibility for domestic national security and counter-terrorism. This included supporting the home secretary with oversight of the work of MI5 and the national police counter-terrorism network.

Mr Brokenshire's responsibilities also included the government's counter-terrorism strategy and he was part of the prime minister's "extremism taskforce". He also led negotiations with the Jordanian government to secure the deportation of the radical cleric Abu Qatada.


Welsh Secretary - Alun Cairns

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Alun Cairns, MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, remains in his cabinet role as secretary of state for Wales.

The 46-year-old, who was born in Swansea and is a graduate of the University of Wales, Newport, was elected in 2010.

He worked in banking for a decade before his election to the Welsh Assembly.


Scottish Secretary - David Mundell

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David Mundell will continue as secretary of state for Scotland. He is one of 13 Scottish Conservatives to be in Parliament after this snap election.

Former prime minister David Cameron first appointed Mr Mundell to the post when he held his Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale seat for the third consecutive election in 2015.

In January 2015, Mr Mundell became the first openly-gay Conservative cabinet secretary.


Conservative Party chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - Patrick McLoughlin

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Patrick McLoughlin remains as the Conservative Party chairman and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

He left his role as transport secretary in 2016 but has been an MP since 1986.

The former miner also served as chief whip after being appointed to the role in David Cameron's first cabinet.


Business and Energy Secretary - Greg Clark

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Greg Clark keeps his job as secretary of state of business, energy and industrial strategy.

The role, when it was created by Labour's Gordon Brown, was originally called the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Last year, it was merged into the new department and lost the "climate change" part of its name.

Environmentalists immediately expressed concern that the reshaping of departments showed the government was downgrading climate change as a priority.


International Development Secretary - Priti Patel

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Priti Patel remains as International Development Secretary. She was promoted from her role as employment minister, which she held for a year, in 2016.

Ms Patel became MP for Witham in 2010 and joined the front bench as a Treasury minister in 2014.

She is no stranger to controversy, having previously advocated bringing back the death penalty and was accused of "divide and rule politics" during the referendum campaign for claiming that "biased" immigration policy prevents curry chefs from outside the EU from working in the UK.

On her appointment, she immediately faced calls to guarantee the UK's legal commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on overseas aid.


In other appointments:

  • Andrea Leadsom appointed Leader of the House of Commons (will also attend Cabinet meetings)
  • Jeremy Wright remains in post as attorney general (will also attend Cabinet meetings)
  • Gavin Williamson keeps his job as chief whip (will also attend Cabinet meetings)
  • Liz Truss is appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury (will also attend Cabinet meetings)
  • Brandon Lewis has been made the minister of state for immigration (will also attend Cabinet meetings)

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