Theresa May carried out the first reshuffle of her minority government in January 2018. Following the resignation of her deputy, Damian Green as First Secretary of State in December 2017, the reshuffle had been highly anticipated and briefed in the press. There were reports of "up to a quarter" of her cabinet ministers who might lose their positions, including Boris Johnson, who had been seen to cause a number of political gaffes during his term as Foreign Secretary. The reshuffle was seen as an opportunity for May to reassert authority, greatly diminished following the result of the snap general election the previous year. Despite being described by 10 Downing Street as a chance to "refresh" the Cabinet, few changes were made to the ministerial line-up. On 9 January, newspaper headlines reflected the chaotic nature of May's reshuffle, with The Daily Telegraph describing it as, "The Night of the Blunt Stiletto", a reference to the 1962 reshuffle carried out by Harold Macmillan.
It was widely reported Jeremy Hunt was due to be moved from the Department for Health to become Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but refused. Instead he defended his position as Health Secretary and convinced May to allow him to remain in post, and for "Social Care" to be added to the name of his department. After considerable speculation Justine Greening would lose her job as Education Secretary, she refused the offer of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and chose instead to resign from the government.
Cabinet-level changes Colour key Minister Position before reshuffle Result of reshuffle Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Resigned from the Cabinet on the grounds of ill health Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster(Chairman of the Conservative Party) Left the government Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP Minister of State for Immigration Became Minister without Portfolio Rt Hon David Lidington CBE MP Lord ChancellorSecretary of State for Justice Became Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; will deputise for the Prime Minister at PMQs Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Became Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP Secretary of State for Health Became Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Rt Hon David Gauke MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Became Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Became Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP Minister of State for Digital and Culture Promoted to become Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Justine Greening MP Secretary of State for EducationMinister for Women and Equalities Resigned from the Cabinet after reportedly refusing to be moved to the Department for Work and Pensions from the Department for Education Damian Hinds MP Minister for Employment Became Secretary of State for Education Rt Hon Esther McVey MP Deputy Chief Government WhipTreasurer of the Household Became Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Claire Perry MP Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry Given right to attend Cabinet and appointed to the Privy Council Caroline Nokes MP Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency Became Minister of State for Immigration Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP Home Secretary Continued as Home Secretary and given additional role of Minister for Women and Equalities.
Junior ministerial changes Colour key Minister Position before reshuffle Result of reshuffle Alok Sharma MP Minister of State for Housing and Planning Became Minister for Employment Dominic Raab MP Minister of State for Courts and Justice Became Minister of State for Housing and Planning Rt Hon John Hayes CBE FRSA MP Minister of State for Transport Left the government Jo Johnson MP Minister of State for Universities and Science Became Minister of State for Transport and Minister for London Sam Gyimah MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation, Rehabilitation and Sentencing Became Minister of State for Universities and Science Philip Dunne MP Minister of State for Health Left the government Caroline Dinenage MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance Became Minister of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay MP Economic Secretary to the TreasuryCity Minister Became Minister of State for Health and Social Care Rory Stewart MP Minister of State for AfricaMinister of State for International Development Became Minister of State for Courts and Justice Margot James MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility Became Minister of State for Digital and Culture Harriett Baldwin MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Became Minister of State for Africa and Minister of State for International Development Marcus Jones MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Left the government; appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Rishi Sunak MP Backbencher Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Lucy Frazer QC MP Backbencher Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation, Rehabilitation and Sentencing Chris Skidmore FRHistS FSA FRSA MP Minister for the Constitution Left the government; appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Oliver Dowden CBE MP Backbencher Became Minister for Implementation Kit Malthouse MP Backbencher Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Andrew Jones MP Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Left the government; appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Robert Jenrick MP Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary Became Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Robert Goodwill MP Minister of State for Children and Families Left the government Nadhim Zahawi MP Backbencher Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education Suella Fernandes MP Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Treasury Ministers Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Shailesh Vara MP Backbencher Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Nus Ghani MP Backbencher Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Michael Ellis MP Deputy Leader of the House of Commons Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Andrew Griffiths MP Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Heather Wheeler MP Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Chloe Smith MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Cabinet Office Guto Bebb MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement John Glen MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Arts, Heritage and Tourism Became Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister Mark Garnier MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade Left the government Graham Stuart MP Assistant Government Whip Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade Stuart Andrew MP Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and an Assistant Government Whip
Whips' Office appointments Whip New position Chris Pincher MP Deputy Chief Government Whip Treasurer of the Household Kelly Tolhurst MP Assistant Government Whip Mims Davies MP Amanda Milling MP Jo Churchill MP Wendy Morton MP Nus Ghani MP
Conservative Party appointments Appointee Position before appointment New party positionRt Hon Brandon Lewis MPMinister of State for ImmigrationConservative Party Chairman James Cleverly TD MP Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Immigration Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Chris Skidmore FRHistS FSA FRSA MP Minister for the Constitution Vice Chairman for Policy Kemi Badenoch MP Backbencher Vice Chairman for Candidates Ben Bradley MP Backbencher Vice Chairman for Youth Maria Caulfield MP Backbencher Vice Chairman for Women Rehman Chishti MP Backbencher Vice Chairman for Communities Helen Grant MP Backbencher Andrew Jones MP Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Vice Chairman for Business Engagement Marcus Jones MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Vice Chairman for Local Government James Morris MP Backbencher Vice Chairman for Training and Development
Reaction The reshuffle was widely considered a political failure, falling short of the expectation for a radical shake-up. The Guardian called it a "pointless luxury" that would cost the government, and Gary Gibbon of Channel 4 News noted it had revealed the Prime Minister's weakened position, naming the reshuffle the "Night of the Long Plastic Forks". Writing his editorial in the London Evening Standard, George Osborne credited May with orchestrating "the worst reshuffle in modern history".
Resignation of Justine Greening Justine Greening was reported to have spent over three hours inside 10 Downing Street, discussing her political future with the Prime Minister. Despite being offered the position of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Greening refused to leave the Department for Education, describing it as being her "dream job". Soon after she emerged from Number 10, her formal resignation was announced and May expressed her disappointment at the decision. In a statement on Twitter, Greening wrote: "Social mobility matters to me & our country more than my ministerial career." – some thought this to be alluding to her criticism of May's grammar schools policy.
Many commentators wrote of their dismay at Greening's resignation. Melissa Benn, founder of the Local Schools Network, described her departure as "bad news for anyone who cares about education," and Stephen Bush wrote in the New Statesman that May's treatment of her Education Secretary "makes no sense at all". Bush reasoned Greening was a successful minister who did not deserve demotion to Work and Pensions, and her return to the backbench could add a vote to the bloc of anti-Brexit Tory MPs, given that she represented Putney, a heavily pro-Remain constituency. Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, praised Greening as "a real role model for LGBT+ Conservatives", and Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds tweeted that: "A Conservative Party which can find a role for Toby Young but not for Justine Greening is one that can be beaten." Faisal Islam of Sky News reported a number of Conservative MPs had privately expressed their anger at Greening's treatment, calling it a "dreadful error".
Failure to move Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Hunt's meeting with the Prime Minister lasted over an hour, during which time Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, had arrived. Hunt and Clark were expected to swap jobs but Hunt refused, convincing Theresa May to allow him to stay at the Department and to widen his brief to include social care. May's willingness to accept Hunt's request was seen as a sign of her diminished authority, which she had hoped to improve by carrying out such a reshuffle.
Comparison were drawn between Hunt's success at persuading May to allow him to continue in his role, and Justine Greening's failure to do so. Anonymous Tory MPs were quoted as saying the Prime Minister had "caved into boys but not a woman", expanding the brief of a disloyal minister while forcing a loyal one to resign.
Renamed government departments