The new Prime Minister promised to fight against the “burning injustice” of inequality, and racial and class prejudice.
But while Theresa May has promised to make “Britain a country that works for everyone”, will she appoint the right men and women to carry out the job?
Here is the first May Cabinet. We’ll update it as more appointments are announced.
Chancellor: Philip Hammond
Hammond, a veteran parliamentarian, was Foreign secretary under David Cameron. Although he campaigned to remain in the EU, Hammond has nevertheless taken a tough stance on immigration. In January he said the principle of freedom of movement had led to the “freedom to freeload”. As Chancellor, though, he may need to concentrate on the looming financial crisis triggered by Brexit.
Foreign: Boris Johnson
You can’t keep a blonde buffoon down, it seems. Johnson, who once referred to black people as “piccaninnies” and more recently accused the half-Kenyan President of the United States of only commenting on the EU referendum because of bitterness about colonialism, will now be Britain’s representative on the world stage. But this may be a clever move by May. While Johnson gets the platform he craves, the real power is likely to be in the hands of the newly-created Brexit minister.
Secretary for exiting the European Union: David Davis
A veteran who won his seat under Margaret Thatcher, Davis combines a blue collar background with a hard line stance on social issues (he has described the death penalty as “justifiable”). Davis is also a passionate campaigner for civil liberties, to the point he resigned and forced a by-election over the issue. A longstanding Eurosceptic, he has already set out his thoughts on a deal with the EU, and cautions against triggering Article 50 too soon.
Home: Amber Rudd
As a Remain backer, Rudd may have lost the referendum, but she shone during the campaign. Pithy putdowns aside, Rudd has quietly moved up the ranks of government, and was promoted to secretary of state for Energy and Climate Change in 2015. Rudd will now be the most prominent woman in the Cabinet after the PM. She also has managed to have an eclectic life outside politics – she was the “aristocracy co-ordinator” for Four Weddings and a Funeral and her first husband was the writer A.A. Gill.
Defence: Michael Fallon
Fallon remains in his post, where he has been since 2014. He has consistently backed the European Union, taking pro-Europe positions in both the referendum of 1975 and that of 2016. He became an MP under Thatcher, but lost his seat in 1992 and spent the following years in business with Dragon’s Den star Duncan Bannatyne. After regaining a seat in 1997, Fallon eventually joined the Shadow frontbench. In 2014, during the Coalition government, he was promoted to Defence.
Health: Jeremy Hunt
Reports that Hunt had been sacked from Health days after imposing a contract on junior doctors made medical staff cheer – but their celebrations turned out to be premature. No. 10 has confirmed the controversial minister is staying – one of the few big guns to do so.
‘Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated…’ Thrilled to be back in the best job in Government.
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 14, 2016
Work and Pensions: Damian Green
Green, a former business journalist, worked for May at the Home Office, and also had a two-year stint at Work and Pensions between 2012 and 2014. Now he gets to do it all over again.
International development: Priti Patel
In 2013, Patel proposed scrapping the Department for International Development, but that hasn’t stopped her taking the job. The Eurosceptic is strongly libertarian on alcohol and tobacco, and voted to relax the smoking ban in 2010. She was Employment minister before her promotion.
International trade: Liam Fox
Fox was initially appointed secretary of state for Defence after the Coalition took power in 2010, but he resigned after questions over his close relations with a lobbyist, Adam Werritty. After several years on the back benches, he returned to prominence during the EU referendum campaign, when he backed Leave.
Justice: Liz Truss
Truss grew up in a northern, left-wing household, but joined the Conservatives and fought two parliamentary seats before finally bagging South West Norfolk in 2010.She has served as secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for almost exactly two years, but had little background in law before landing Justice. Like her new boss, she backed Remain. She will also be Lord Chancellor.
Education: Justine Greening
An early backer of May, Greening was previously the longstanding secretary of state for International Development. She once told The Guardian: “I like to cut through the crap and get things done.” It remains to be seen how well this attitude will go down with teachers, who have criticised both her Tory predecessors’ reforms. She backed Remain. The first openly bisexual member of Cabinet, she tweeted at this year’s Pride that she was in a happy same-sex relationship. She added: “I campaigned for Stronger In, but sometimes you’re better off out!”
Environment: Andrea Leadsom
Brexit belle Leadsom was the biggest threat to May until she pulled out of the leadership race. Although May has abolished the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Leadsom gets Environment. Her responsibilities will include dealing with farmers as they digest the fact they will no longer be receiving EU subsidies.
Wonderful symmetry of La Leadsom going to DEFRA and having to tell Farmers the games up as a result of Brexit #poeticjustice
— Nicholas Soames (@nsoamesmp) July 14, 2016
Communities: Sajid Javid
A protege of the former Chancellor George Osborne, and most recently Business minister, Javid was tipped for great things. Then Brexit happened, and Osborne was sacked. Javid keeps his seat in Cabinet under the May premiership, but he moves to the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Transport: Chris Grayling
Grayling chaired May’s leadership campaign, and she rewarded him with a Cabinet job. This is something of a rehabilitation, given Grayling’s time at Justice. Not only was he widely criticised for his ban on books sent to prisoners, but his successor Michael Gove immediately reversed his reforms. Now he has been let loose on Britain’s transport system.
Chief whip: Gavin Williamson
Wiliamson was David Cameron’s parliamentary private secretary, a relatively junior role which confined him to liaising between No. 10 and MPs. Williamson worked in business before becoming an MP in 2010. Until his current promotion, his only previous time in the public eye when John Bercow told him off for making too much noise in Prime Minister’s Questions, adding: “His role is… to fetch and carry notes.”
Conservative chairman: Patrick McLoughlin
McLoughlin, who won his seat under Thatcher, loses his job as Transport secretary, but hasn’t quite lost his grip on the Cabinet table. He can still attend thanks to an additional title – he is now Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Culture: Karen Bradley
This is a promotion for Bradley, formerly a government whip.
Northern Ireland: James Brokenshire
Brokenshire is a longterm ally of May, and worked for her at the Home Office. While he has no obvious connection to Northern Ireland, his background as an Immigration minister may come in handy if Brexit sees a border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Wales: Alun Cairns
The Vale of Glamorgan MP keeps his job, which he has held since replacing Stephen Crabb in March 2016.
Scotland: David Mundell
The only Tory MP with a Scottish constituency keeps his job.
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