Truss and Sunak consider who to appoint to their Cabinet as new PM
Hunt for Home Secretary? Kwarteng for Chancellor? It’s Liz vs Rishi in the battle for No10… but there’s a bigger fight to join the new PM’s Cabinet as Tory contenders have to decide whether to reward allies, maintain Boris’s team or reach out to rivals
- Whoever wins out of Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will soon have to appoint a Cabinet
- They will need to reward loyalists, but also consider how to reunite the Tories
- Speculation is rife over who could be handed plum jobs under a new PM
A fight to join the new Prime Minister’s Cabinet is now underway among Tory MPs alongside the head-to-head battle between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak for the Conservative leadership.
Whoever is victorious between Ms Truss and Mr Sunak will soon have to decide how to form their top team of ministers.
Their thinking will be influenced by a need to reward loyalists who are backing their leadership campaigns.
But they will also be considering whether they want to keep any of Boris Johnson’s current team, or if they should reach out to former rivals in a bid to maintain Tory unity after the leadership contest is over.
Speculation is already rife at Westminster over who could be handed plum Cabinet jobs once the new PM is installed in Downing Street on 6th September.
Whoever is victorious between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will soon have to decide how to form their top team of ministers
Kwarteng for Chancellor?
A first decision for Ms Truss and Mr Sunak will be who to appoint as their Chancellor as they try to get to grips with the cost-of-living crisis.
Nadhim Zahawi is the current Treasury chief but is unlikely to remain in the role after his own Tory leadership bid ended in a humiliating exit in the first round of voting.
During his short-lived campaign, Mr Zahawi promised to slash income tax by 2p within two years, abolish a planned increase in Corporation Tax and force Whitehall departments to cut running costs by 20 per cent.
Having made his own fiscal aims so public, it would be hard for either Ms Truss or Mr Sunak to keep him in the Treasury as they seek to implement their own economic agenda.
Ms Truss could consider promoting Simon Clarke, the current Chief Secretary to the Treasury and one of her staunchest supporters, to Chancellor.
But Kwasi Kwarteng, the current Business Secretary and also a key ally, might also be tasked with her own tax-cutting agenda.
Despite being a Cabinet minister, Mr Kwarteng is known to be an opponent of Mr Johnson’s windfall tax on energy companies.
There is also pressure for Ms Truss to make a surprise pick as Chancellor.
One senior MP, who is backing her leadership campaign, told MailOnline that John Redwood ‘would be a wonderful Chancellor’.
Mr Sunak could turn to a key Boris ally, the PM’s former chief of staff Steve Barclay, as his own Chancellor.
Mr Barclay is backing Mr Sunak’s leadership bid and has extensive Treasury experience.
He became Chief Secretary when Mr Sunak was promoted from that role to Chancellor just before the Covid crisis.
Steve Barclay, a supporter of Mr Sunak, and Kwasi Kwarteng, who is backing Ms Truss, have both been touted as a future Chancellor
Will there be a Deputy PM?
Another early decision for Ms Truss and Mr Sunak will be whether to keep the role of Deputy Prime Minister.
Dominic Raab currently holds the role and was an early backer of Mr Sunak’s campaign.
He could be kept on by Mr Sunak – as well as retaining his Justice Secretary brief as he pushes his new Bill of Rights through Parliament – as a means of maintaining some continuity from Mr Johnson’s Government.
But, there is no obligation on Mr Sunak or Ms Truss to appoint a formal deputy, with Mr Raab the first holder of the official position since Nick Clegg served as David Cameron’s deputy in the Coalition government.
Hunt for Home Secretary?
Another key question for the new PM is what to do with their defeated rivals from the Tory leadership contest.
Mr Sunak has pointedly refused to confirm he would give Ms Truss a job if he beats her to become PM.
But Jeremy Hunt, who dropped out the contest after the first round of voting, might expect to get a Cabinet job after he subsequently gave his backing to Mr Sunak.
Having already served as Health Secretary and Foreign Secretary, it has been suggested that Mr Hunt is being lined up as Home Secretary in a Sunak administration.
Grant Shapps, the current Transport Secretary, might also expect to be bumped up the Cabinet pecking order after ditching his own leadership campaign in favour of Mr Sunak’s.
Ms Truss might consider promoting her ally Therese Coffey, the current Work and Pensions Secretary, to the Home Office.
Could Jeremy Hunt or Therese Coffey take charge of the Home Office under the new Prime Minister?
Cleverly for Foreign Secretary?
As the current holder of the role, Ms Truss will think carefully about who to appoint as her successor as Foreign Secretary should she become PM.
James Cleverly has been touted as a possible replacement and spent more than two years as a Foreign Office minister before being drafted in as Education Secretary earlier this month as part of Mr Johnson’s caretaker administration.
Tom Tugendhat, whose leadership campaign surprised many by surviving through to the third round of voting, might also be considered as a possible Foreign Secretary by both Ms Truss or Mr Sunak.
He is the current chair of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee and takes a tough stance on both China and Russia.
Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, or James Cleverly, the current Education Secretary, might become Foreign Secretary
What about Mordaunt or Badenoch?
Two other defeated leadership candidates – Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch – are also expected to be handed Cabinet roles by the new PM.
Both proved popular with Tory MPs during the leadership contest, with Ms Mordaunt – a former Defence Secretary – making it through to the final round before she was squeezed out by Ms Truss and Mr Sunak.
After the divisive nature of the Tory contest, a generous job offer for those who made a big impression in the battle to become PM – including during TV debates – would help restore some unity in the Conservative Party.
Suella Braverman, the current Attorney General who attracted the support of a number of Tory Brexiteers for her own leadership bid, might also be eyeing up a Cabinet promotion.
Both Kemi Badenoch (centre) and Penny Mordaunt (far right) impressed MPs during the Tory leadership contest, including in the ITV debate presented by Julie Etchingham (third from right)
What about current Cabinet big beasts?
Neither Priti Patel, the current Home Secretary, or Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, have publicly declared who they are backing in the Tory leadership contest.
By not taking a side, it could be easier for Ms Truss and Mr Sunak to keep them in their current roles, especially as Mr Wallace leads Government efforts in supplying Ukraine with British military kit.
Ms Truss and Mr Sunak have both committed to maintaining the Rwanda migrant scheme and might task Ms Patel with seeing the policy through ongoing legal challenges.
Neither Priti Patel, the current Home Secretary, or Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, have publicly declared who they are backing in the Tory leadership contest
How will Truss and Sunak reward loyalists?
Both Ms Truss and Mr Sunak count a number of current and former Cabinet ministers among their supporters.
Ms Truss is backed by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries, who are both among Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters, and might to choose to keep them in the Cabinet in the interests of party unity.
She could also consider a Cabinet return for Lord Frost, the former chief Brexit negotiator who has thrown his weight behind her campaign.
Mr Sunak is supported by ex-Cabinet ministers Oliver Dowden, Robert Jenrick, Matt Hancock, Liam Fox and Gavin Williamson.
A return to the top level of Government for some might prove more controversial than for others, considering the circumstances in which they left office.
Mr Williamson endured widespread criticism during his spell as Education Secretary, while Mr Hancock was forced to resign after he was caught on CCTV kissing his aide Gina Coladangelo in a breach of Covid rules.
But Mr Hancock has recently been suggested to having been eyeing up the role of Conservative Party chair as a means of returning to the political frontline.
Matt Hancock is backing Mr Sunak, while Nadine Dorries – a loyalist of Boris Johnson – is supporting Ms Truss
A return for Javid or Gove?
One of Mr Johnson’s final acts as he attempted to salvage his premiership was his sacking of Michael Gove as Levelling Up Secretary.
Ms Truss or Mr Sunak might consider asking Mr Gove to return to the role once they become PM, despite his backing for Ms Badenoch during the leadership contest.
Sajid Javid, who was the first Cabinet minister to quit Mr Johnson’s Cabinet as part of the Tory revolt that caused the PM’s downfall, might also be offered a return to Government.
This would be likelier if Mr Sunak won the Tory leadership contest.
Although both have denied their move was coordinated, Mr Sunak’s own bombshell resignation from Mr Johnson’s Cabinet came just minutes after Mr Javid’s.
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