London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Dec 15, 2025

Boris Johnson criticised for 'he-shuffle' and rewarding 'dull men' with new jobs

Boris Johnson criticised for 'he-shuffle' and rewarding 'dull men' with new jobs

The prime minister has been criticised for a cabinet reshuffle which has seen him almost exclusively give new roles to men.

Dubbed a ‘he shuffle’ for the lack of women given new jobs, today’s announcements saw Boris Johnson reward ministers who have openly supported him during a turbulent past few weeks.

The reshuffle saw no ministers leaving Government, with the PM concentrating on moving his allies around into new jobs.

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been sacked as commons leader and moved to the new role of minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency.

Mark Spencer has become the new commons leader with his former chief whip job going to MP Chris Heaton-Harris.

Mr Heaton-Harris’ deputy will be MP Chris Pincher who previously held the same position under Theresa May. Michael Ellis MP has become Minister for the Cabinet Office, in addition to his current role as Paymaster General.

Meanwhile James Cleverly has been moved within the Foreign Office to become Europe Minister and former deputy chief whip Stuart Andrew was moved to Michael Gove’s levelling up department.

The only women reshuffled are Heather Wheeler and Wendy Morton. Ms Wheeler has become parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office while Ms Morton has relocated from parliamentary under-secretary to minister of state in the Department for Transport.

Jacob Rees-Mogg has a new job as Brexit opportunities minister


Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: ‘Whopping more than £35k pay rise for Jacob Rees-Mogg who was up to his neck in the Owen Patterson scandal.

‘Similar rise for Michael Ellis who is clearly being rewarded for answering tricky questions on behalf of others. Who said dull men don’t fail upwards?’

Ms Rayner also criticised the reshuffle as a distraction from ‘vital topics affecting families across the country’ such as the ‘Conservatives’ cost of living crisis.

She said: ‘Today, the Labour Party frontbench was in Parliament proposing measures to tackle food poverty caused by an inflation crisis created in Downing Street and supporting the mental health of our children and young people – vital topics affecting families across the country.

Angela Rayner hasn’t held back in her criticism of today’s reshuffle


‘What was Boris Johnson doing? Reshuffling the deckchairs when he’s already hit an iceberg.

‘Labour is committed to security, prosperity and respect for everyone. Boris Johnson is desperately trying to save his own skin.’

Downing Street said the reshuffle would improve the ‘vital connection between No 10 and parliament’.

‘As the PM said last week, it is important that we both make immediate changes to improve both how the No 10 operation works and the work of the Cabinet Office, and further changes to strengthen Cabinet government and improve that vital connection between No 10 and Parliament,’ the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.

‘The changes being made today will strengthen that connection. We have changes to the whips’ office, improving engagement with MPs and helping to drive the Government’s ambitious agenda.

Chris Heaton-Harris is one of the men to get a new job in the reshuffle dubbed a ‘he shuffle’


‘We have a new Brexit opportunities minister, a role that’s been created to drive forward the changes we are able to make now that we have left the EU, delivering on our post-Brexit agenda across Whitehall.’

The changes come after a week of chaos in Westminster which saw five members of Mr Johnson’s top team resign within 24 hours on Friday.

Three of the departed senior aides were caught up in the partygate scandal, including senior civil servant Martin Reynolds, who sent out an invitation to the ‘bring your own booze’ event in May 2020.

While policy chief Munira Mirza quit over the PM’s false claim that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions, and his refusal to apologise.

The re-shuffle also comes as a poll carried out by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, on Monday showed Labour opening up a 10-point lead ahead of the Conservatives.

The results, reported by MailOnline, put Labour 42%, up 2% with the Tories down 1% on 23%.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
×