On Thursday, 13th February, Downing Street became the floor of high drama as Boris Johnsons’ mini cabinet reshuffle saw the resignation of former chancellor Sajid Javid, sacking of eminent ministers and appointment or elevation of three Indian-origin MPs in the cabinet.
“It’s been a huge honour to serve as chancellor of the exchequer. Whilst I was very pleased that the prime minister wanted to reappoint me, I was unable to accept the conditions that he had attached, so I felt that I was left with no option other than to resign. One of the conditions was that I replace all my political advisers.
“These are people who have worked incredibly hard on behalf of, not just the government, but the whole country, [and] done a fantastic job. I was unable to accept those conditions. I don’t believe any self-respecting minister would accept such conditions. And so, therefore, I felt the best thing to do was to go,” he said in a statement to the BBC.
Tensions between the ex-chancellor and Johnson's press secretary Dominic Cummings had been going on for quite some time now. They had further elevated last year when Cummings had sacked Sonia Khan, the chancellor's secretary without his advice and consent. Therefore, for some political pundits, his resignation came as no great surprise. And neither were they surprised by the appointment of the former Treasury Chief Secretary, as Javid’s replacement. Rishi Sunak, the son in law of Indian tech giant Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, was confirmed as the UK’s new Chancellor of Ex-chequer by Downing Street in a tweet.
Educated at Winchester College before reading PPE at Oxford, wide justification around his expected promotion circles around two key aspects – he backed Brexit and he backed Boris Johnson during last year’s leadership contest. He even stood in for Johnson in some televised debates during last year’s election campaign.
Rishi Sunak is the new Chancellor: Budget, and launch of free ports
Sajid Javid had been due to deliver his first Budget in the new government in three weeks' time. Now Sunak faces the daunting task of unveiling a budget around government’s tax and spending plans in a Brexit driven economy and reports suggest that his March budget may as well get delayed.
While Sunak’s appointment has led to businesses keeping an eye on the launch of the proposed 10 free ports after Brexit. Proposed to be operating from 2021, once the consultation is completed, sea, air and rail ports will be able to bid for free port status. This idea was first pitched by Boris Johnson during his campaign to become Conservative leader. The government has argued that these zones could bring thousands of new jobs and significant investment, notably to deprived coastal areas. It is also proposing zones – which do not necessarily have to be located in a port – where no duty is paid on goods until they enter the full UK market, meaning none at all is paid if they are re-exported from the port. Other extra freedoms include duties only being paid on final goods, not on any raw materials that are imported into the area and then processed. Businesses would be exempt from filling out full customs declarations on imported goods.
"Free ports will unleash the potential in our proud historic ports, boosting and regenerating communities across the UK," Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, said in a statement.
Dual role for Alok Sharma: Business Secretary and Chair of Climate Conference
While all eyes will remain peeled on the new chancellor and his spring budget, the cabinet reshuffle also saw Alok Sharma, the former Secretary of State for International Development being elevated to the role of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, replacing Andrea Leadsome. Sharma, Tory MP for Reading will also be president of the COP26, the upcoming UN climate talks which are to be hosted by the UK this November. But that in itself is an uphill task after big names such as the former Prime Minister David Cameron and former Foreign Secretary William Hague turned down the offer.
Several other ministers had been mooted for the role, including Michael Gove, who said there were “many, many, many, many” people who would do better as Cop26 president, and Kwasi Kwarteng, the clean energy minister. Rumours also swirled around Zac Goldsmith, who has a long background in environmentalism. Before entering parliament, he was the owner of the Ecologist magazine and a strong campaigner and philanthropist on green issues. Previous Cop summits have been led by the host government’s most prominent minister with a relevant portfolio, usually the environment minister.
Sharma has held an impressive voting record standing against support for carbon-capture projects and taxing polluting vehicles and dirty power stations, among other things. This is one of the reasons why experts pit him as an MP who can convince UN countries to follow the UK’s climate policies.
Priti Patel continues as Home Secretary challenged with Emergency legislation
But whilst Johnson focusses on the global climate crises, he appears to have his faith installed in Home Secretary Priti Patel who retained her position despite the increasing terror threats that have surfaced in the UK’s domestic politics. Johnson had last July, had appointed Patel as the new Home Secretary. Following the development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had further extended congratulatory notes to his "good friend" Priti Patel on the occasion.
Patel, an advocate for bringing back the death penalty has recently pushed for emergency legislation around the early release of convicted offenders. She believes that these laws would “make people safer on the streets.” In a statement to the LBC, she had said,
“This legislation puts the British public's protection first, make sure that terrorist offenders can no longer leave prison early under this auto release scheme, but also ensure that obviously we now have a parole board situation where every individual, every terrorist offender will go through a proper process. And absolutely, when it comes to terrorist offenders leaving prison early, it's an unacceptable situation.”
Suella Braverman wants to take back control of our courts
But perhaps the biggest surprise in this reshuffle was the appointment of Suella Fernandes and now Braverman as the new Attorney General having succeeded Geoffrey Cox. Born and raised in north-west London, Braverman’s father of Goan ancestry from South India moved to the UK in the 1960s from Kenya and Mauritius.
The MP for Fareham is labelled as a passionate Brexiter among the political circles and recently published a searing attack on human rights litigation and the overuse of judicial review challenges. Now as an attorney general she will play a significant role in both the proposed royal commission on criminal justice and the constitution, democracy, and rights commission which will examine the relationship between the courts and parliament. Her “taking back control of our courts” based policy framing will be of utmost significance in light of the UK’s departure from the EU. Perhaps, more so based on Johnson’s insistence around “non-alignment” with Brussels and reluctance for the involvement of the European Courts of Justice in the UK’s judicial order.
