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Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Liz Truss is appointing her new cabinet hours after becoming prime minister

Kwasi Kwarteng has been named chancellor, James Cleverly is foreign secretary and Therese Coffey is the new health secretary and deputy PM.

Prominent backers of Truss's leadership rival Rishi Sunak are out of a job, including Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps.

Earlier Truss said that her government would "transform Britain into an aspiration nation" and that "together we can ride out the storm".


Suella Braverman is new home secretary
Suella Braverman will succeed Priti Patel as the new home secretary.

Braverman previously held the role of attorney general in Boris Johnson's government and was the first person to announce her intention to stand in the Tory leadership contest earlier this year.

In Patel's resignation letter yesterday she said it was “vital” that her successor continued her policies, including the controversial plan to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda.


James Cleverly made foreign secretary
James Cleverly has been handed the role of foreign secretary in Liz Truss's new government.

He will be succeeding Truss herself in the role, inheriting a fairly bulging in-tray of his own.

The war in Ukraine is a huge issue and one that Truss has focused on.

In her maiden speech earlier, Truss pointed to Vladimir Putin's aggression as the reason for soaring energy bills.

This won’t be a totally new department for James Cleverley.

He’s been a foreign minister before – both for the Middle East and North Africa, and later for Europe and North America.

He most recently served as education secretary under Boris Johnson.

He was previously in the army and trained at Sandhurst.

Outside of work, he apparently enjoys painting model soldiers and hanging out with his border terriers.

He’ll have a busy brief ahead as foreign secretary with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the UK government’s current plans to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol – an element of the Brexit deal agreed with the EU.


Kwasi Kwarteng is new chancellor

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary under Boris Johnson, has been made the new chancellor.

He will be in charge of the nation's finances as soaring energy prices cause pain for households and businesses.

The new government is expected to announce a package costing billions to cap typical energy bills at around £2,500, with full details expected on Thursday.

Kwasi Kwarteng is now the man in charge of the economy.

He was previously the business secretary under Boris Johnson.

He’s been vocally supportive of new forms of energy, particularly nuclear power, but was also one of the champions in the previous administration of introducing more renewables such as more onshore wind and solar farms, with incentives like cheaper energy bills where there was local support.

He all but confirmed his place in the cabinet days ago, writing in the Financial Times in what appeared to be an attempt to reassure markets that the government would behave in a fiscally responsible way despite plans to borrow more money.

Kwarteng, who got a scholarship to Eton before studying at Cambridge, worked in finance before entering politics, and has written a book about the legacy of the British Empire.

He’s widely regarded as a close friend, as well as ally, of Liz Truss.

His first big challenge will be Truss’s promised "mini-budget" and help with energy bills.



Therese Coffey is new health secretary and deputy PM
Therese Coffey has been appointed secretary of state for health and social care.

She will also hold the position of deputy prime minister.

A long-term political ally of Liz Truss, the MP for Suffolk Coastal was most recently the work and pensions secretary in Boris Johnson's cabinet.

As Coffey left Downing Street this evening she told awaiting journalists: "I'm very excited, thank you".

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