(Bloomberg) — Boris Johnson carried out a brutal clear-out of more than half of his predecessor’s top team, installing supporters in key roles as the new prime minister signaled his intent to deliver Brexit in 99 days.
In total, 18 of the 29 ministers who sat in Theresa May’s cabinet on Wednesday morning were out of their jobs by the evening. There were top jobs for Sajid Javid, who was named chancellor of the exchequer, Priti Patel, who becomes home secretary, and Dominic Raab, the new foreign secretary.
It sent the unequivocal message that Johnson wants to stamp his authority and change the direction of government. But although the new cabinet has a much more hard-Brexit flavor, the ejection of so many ministers could have a paradoxical effect.
Johnson has now stacked the back benches of the House of Commons with Conservative members of parliament who owe him nothing and won’t support a no-deal Brexit, a policy the new prime minister reiterated on Wednesday that he wanted to keep on the table. If he is indeed serious about no-deal, Johnson will have to find a way to sideline Parliament — or change its make-up by calling an election.
Shortly after visiting Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth II formally appointed him the U.K.’s new leader. Johnson’s convoy swept through the gates of Downing Street past a small crowd of pro- and anti-Brexit protesters, who chanted loudly as he delivered his first address outside the door to Number 10.
He promised to take Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31, declaring he will get the country ready for the “remote” prospect of a no-deal Brexit if it’s the only way to leave the bloc on time.
“The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters — they are going to get it wrong again,” Johnson said. “We are going to fulfill the repeated promises of Parliament to the people and come out of the EU on Oct. 31, no ifs or buts, and we will do a new deal, a better deal.”
The 55-year-old faces an enormous challenge to deliver on that promise, hemmed in by the clash between his own pledge to renegotiate the deal secured by May and the EU’s stance that the agreement is non-negotiable.
Johnson insisted the economy would be ready for a no-deal Brexit if necessary. “The ports will be ready, the banks will be ready, the factories will be ready, business will be ready,” he said. “The British people have had enough of waiting. The time has come to act.”
The premier has put his one-time nemesis, Michael Gove, in charge of those Brexit preparations, alongside his former aide Dominic Cummings. When the three men were last working together, on the 2016 Leave campaign, they turned the country upside down.
Now Cummings and Gove have the chance to deliver a revolution in the way the government functions — something both men have long yearned for.
After his address, Johnson headed to Parliament, where in his office behind the chamber, away from the cameras, he conducted a swift succession of firings. One of the ministers told that his services were no longer required confided afterward that he’d felt sorry for Johnson having to give so much bad news so quickly after taking office.
Others had little time to feel bad for the man bringing their careers to a halt. Penny Mordaunt, Defence Secretary for less than three months, was stunned, according to a person familiar with her thinking. Johnson told her there was no room for her in the cabinet, without further explanation.
Jeremy Hunt, who Johnson defeated to become prime minister, had hoped stay on as foreign secretary. Just before 6 p.m., he walked out of Parliament with his wife, to say goodbye to his officials. In a tweet, Hunt said it was time for him to be “GOOD DAD” to his three kids.
Johnson then headed back to 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence, to begin giving the good news. Appointees to his Cabinet would get the glory of walking past the cameras up to the front door.
Javid was in first, then Patel, then Raab. As well as being named foreign secretary, the former Brexit secretary was appointed first secretary of state, a title normally reserved for the premier’s deputy. Brexit Steve Barclay was one of the few ministers to stay in his post; Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd did so too.
Liz Truss, who had heavily hinted she wanted to be made chancellor, was named trade secretary; Ben Wallace was put in charge of defense. Andrea Leadsom moved to the Business Department.
On the terrace of Parliament, overlooking the Thames, those who had left their jobs sipped beer and Pimms and accepted commiserations, while those hoping to be summoned for promotion clutched their phones.
In his speech in Downing Street, the new premier pledged to take “personal responsibility for the change I want to see.”
–With assistance from Robert Hutton.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at [email protected];Joe Mayes in London at [email protected];Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Flavia Krause-Jackson, Caroline Alexander
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