Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

UK Reshuffles Cabinet For Post-Pandemic Recovery

UK Reshuffles Cabinet For Post-Pandemic Recovery

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who deputised as premier last April when Johnson was in intensive care with COVID-19, has faced sustained criticism for his handling of the Afghanistan crisis.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday readied a fresh cabinet "to build back better from the pandemic" in a reshuffle that cast Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's future into doubt.

Raab, who deputised as premier last April when Johnson was in intensive care with Covid-19, has faced sustained criticism for his handling of the Afghanistan crisis.

The spotlight was also on Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who like Raab was notably absent from the government front bench of the House of Commons at Johnson's weekly question and answer session.

The gaffe-prone Williamson was the first minister to indicate he was out of a job, tweeting that it had been a "privilege" to serve in his role since 2019 when Johnson took office on a vow to "get Brexit done".

Now that Britain has formally left the European Union after a years-long divorce, the Conservative government has been battling to tame one of the world's highest per capita death tolls from the pandemic.

Johnson on Tuesday outlined a plan to restore restrictions if needed, to avert fresh crisis for the state-run National Health Service heading into what could be a difficult winter with hospitalisations rising again.

After days of speculation, a Downing Street source confirmed the reshuffle was happening, saying Johnson would "put in place a strong and united team to build back better from the pandemic".

"The PM will be appointing ministers this afternoon with a focus on uniting and levelling up the whole country," the source added.

Vacationing as Kabul fell

Raab was on holiday on a Greek island as the government scrambled to evacuate British nationals and Afghan staff as the Taliban advanced and seized power last month.

Trade Secretary Liz Truss, who has brokered a series of deals since Britain's full exit from the EU in January, has been tipped to replace Raab.

Williamson meanwhile has faced a barrage of complaints about his handling of school closures, examination arrangements and university admissions during the coronavirus emergency.

Brexit point man Michael Gove has been suggested as a replacement for Home Secretary Priti Patel, another arch Brexiteer who has been under pressure due to a surge in migrant crossings from France, along with bullying claims.

However, Patel sat alongside Johnson in the Commons on Wednesday, suggesting she may be safe.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak was another flanking the prime minister, having emerged as a Conservative darling during the pandemic.

But Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed on Twitter that they were on the way out.

"On to the next adventure," Buckland said.

As Johnson met with colleagues in his office inside the Commons, away from the public glare of 10 Downing Street, his official spokesman said the premier understood "the importance of having a diverse cabinet".

But the spokesman would not guarantee that female representation in the ministerial team would be maintained at its current high level.

Political strategist Dominic Cummings, the Brexit mastermind who fell out with Johnson last year, branded the shake-up the "Carrie reshuffle", suggesting that allies of the prime minister's wife will be rewarded.

The Downing Street spokesman denied this.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×