Following the announcement that Suella Braverman has been sacked as Home Secretary, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has today conducted a cabinet reshuffle.

James Cleverly, former Foreign Secretary, has been confirmed as the new Home Secretary, replacing Braverman. Former Prime Minister, David Cameron, has returned to Downing Street after a seven year-absence from politics, to assume the role of Foreign Secretary.

Housing Minister, Rachel Maclean, has been asked to step down, as was Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for DEFRA. Lee Rowley as been appointed as the new housing minister, and former Health Secretary, Steve Barclay has taken over at DEFRA.

Victoria Atkins has been announced as the new Health Secretary. Laura Trott has been appointed chief secretary to the Treasury, a role previously held by John Glen. Glen now steps into the role of Paymaster General, following the resignation of Jeremy Quin.

Replacing Greg Hands, Richard Holden is the new Conservative Party chairman. 

We have also seen several ministers voluntarily leave their positions, particularly in the lower levels of government, meaning a wider reshuffle beyond cabinet will be needed. Schools Minister Nick Gibb, Health Ministers Neil O’Brien and Will Quince have all asked to leave their roles today. Transport minister, Jesse Norman and Science Minister, George Freeman have also stepped down from their positions.

“We are sad to lose another housing minister and the DEFRA Secretary of State because we were engaged in serious discussions regarding a medium sized site planning definition and strengthening the NPPF, as well as how we build in biodiversity.

We look forward to meeting the new housing minister and DEFRA secretary to highlight why these policies are important as without them, the Government will be responsible for a greater number of SME builders and regional contractors leaving the construction sector, which makes levelling up even more difficult and further harms UK productivity.”

Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy at the National Federation of Builders (NFB)