London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

March of the women on day two of Boris’s big reshuffle

March of the women on day two of Boris’s big reshuffle

Boris Johnson was on Thursday appointing a string of “2019 election” MPs and more women to ministerial posts as he continued his reshuffle.

It will see Britain represented on the global stage by new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, with half of the ministers in her department expected to be women, including Amanda Milling who moves from the party chairman post.

Thursday morning it was announced that Penny Mordaunt was becoming an international trade minister, having been paymaster general. She is replaced by former solicitor general Michael Ellis. Hornchurch and Upminster MP Julia Lopez is promoted to minister of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Victoria Prentis becomes a minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Michelle Donelan remains an education minister, where she has done the universities brief, and will attend Cabinet.

It comes after Mr Johnson stressed in an interview with the Standard in July last year his aim to have a “large number of female ministers” in his Government. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio: “The Prime Minister is determined to bring forward a new generation of backbenchers, so he’s promoted into the lower ranks of ministers a significant number of women.”

Liz Truss


Mr Wallace clashed with Dominic Raab over the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the latter being axed as foreign secretary yesterday. While stressing that all Cabinet ministers were his friends, he heaped praise on Ms Truss.

“She’s a great communicator and I think in foreign policy you have to be good at that,” he added.

Nadine Dorries


Her appointment means two of the great offices of state are now held by women, with Priti Patel remaining Home Secretary.

Mr Johnson’s reshuffle, with the promotion of more 2019 MPs, was expected to help to shore up the Tory hold on seats in Labour’s former “Red Wall” won at the last election.

New Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is among the straight-talking ministers who are expected to appeal to voters in these constituencies.

Penny Mordaunt

The major reshuffle on Wednesday saw Gavin Williamson fired as education secretary following his handling of the exams fiasco during the coronavirus crisis, while Robert Buckland lost his job as justice secretary.

Oliver Dowden was made Tory party co-chairman before quickly readying Conservative staff for the next election which could be in 20 months’ time.

Michael Gove succeeded a sacked Robert Jenrick as Housing Secretary and was entrusted with taking responsibility for “levelling-up”.

Victoria Prentis


Mr Wallace claimed that the Prime Minister did not sack any of his top team due to incompetence.

“He has removed people from Government not because they’re incompetent... but often he has to refresh his team,” Mr Wallace told BBC Breakfast.


Mr Johnson said his new-look Cabinet will “work tirelessly to unite and level up the whole country”.

Mr Raab was reported to have put up a fight against his demotion from the Foreign Office before being handed the compromise of Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr Wallace insisted his colleague’s holiday during the Afghanistan crisis was not the reason he was demoted.

He told BBC Breakfast: “Dominic is by trade a lawyer ... he’s gone to the Ministry of Justice which ... he desperately understands.”

Michelle Donelan

Some critics said the Prime Minister’s move to make Ms Dorries Culture Secretary was to ramp up the so-called “culture war” by promoting someone who has publicly criticised the BBC.

Nadhim Zahawi was rewarded for his efforts in ensuring a successful vaccine roll-out with the job of Education Secretary, while Anne-Marie Trevelyan is International Trade Secretary.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace defended the appointment of Nadine Dorries as Culture Secretary, insisting her status as an author made her suitable to run the department.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×