On October 25, 2022 local time, Sunak , who officially took office as the British Prime Minister, delivered a speech in front of the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street, London. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
On the evening of October 25, local time, the new British Prime Minister Sunak announced the list of his new cabinet: Finance Minister Hunter , Foreign Secretary Cleverley and Defense Secretary Wallace were all retained in office. Home Secretary Braverman, who resigned less than a week ago, returned to serve as Home Secretary, and former Deputy Prime Minister Raab returned to the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.
This is a list that looks calm, with important positions that have not changed much compared to those in the Truss cabinet. The new prime minister seems to be ignoring old grudges. But upon closer inspection, it has another meaning and a lot of emphasis.
Bridging the rift in the Conservative Party is the primary consideration
From July Johnson was forced to step down to October 25 when Sunak took over as Prime Minister, in less than four months, the UK had three Conservative party leaders and three Prime Ministers. In addition, there are many heavyweight politicians trying to attack the positions of party leader and prime minister. The result was a serious split within the conservative party.
Sunak said after automatically winning the Conservative Party leadership election on October 24: The Conservative Party must either unite or perish. Therefore, bridging the conservative party's divisive tendencies has become Sunak's primary consideration in forming a cabinet.
For example, Foreign Secretary Cleverley and Defense Secretary Wallace had previously expressed support for Johnson to come back to compete with Sunak, but they were still able to stay in office.
At the same time, Sunak also took into account the sentiments of Truss supporters. Kofi, the deputy prime minister and health minister in Truss's cabinet, is a staunch ally of Truss. Sunak specifically named Kofi to join the cabinet when forming the cabinet. However, she can no longer be re-elected as health minister. The position was given to Johnson's confidant and former chief of staff Buckley.
can be found that although Sunak considered seeking a balance among various factions when forming the cabinet, it is clear that Johnson supporters occupy most important positions. This reflects from the side that Johnson still has considerable political energy, while Truss’s has basically been dissipated.
On October 25, 2022 local time, Truss (front) is preparing to deliver his last speech before leaving office in front of the Prime Minister's Office at 10 Downing Street in London, England. Photo/Xinhua News Agency
Leader of the House of Commons Mordaunt was deliberately left out
Of course, Sunak also considered rewards for "his own people" when forming the cabinet. The biggest beneficiary is Filibuster. Raab is a Sunak supporter and this time serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary. This was the position he originally held in Johnson's cabinet. Raab was also one of the first important figures in Johnson's cabinet to challenge Johnson.
Shapps, who was appointed business secretary, was also one of Sunak's earliest major supporters. When Sunak and Truss ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party after Johnson resigned in July, Shapps supported Sunak.
Compared with Sunak’s supporters being re-employed, Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons who was one of Sunak’s main rivals before October 24, is slightly disappointed.
Mordaunt had no choice but to withdraw from the race because she failed to win the support of 100 Conservative MPs at the last moment when she announced the candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party at 14:00 local time on October 24. However, she has received support beyond her expectations.
It is reported that Mordaunt hopes to take advantage of his newly rising popularity to become foreign secretary - a higher position than the leader of the House of Commons. But Sunak kept Mordaunt in the House of Commons, deliberately snubbed. Obviously, Sunak does not want to create a stronger intra-party opponent for himself in the future.
Information map of Mordaunt, leader of the British House of Commons . Photo/Xinhua News Agency
The new cabinet still has strong conservative elite characteristics
Although the new cabinet formed by Sunak focuses on balance and stability, it may still be adjusted in the future.
For example, Defense Secretary Wallace has always hoped to continue to increase the proportion of British military expenditures in GDP, although the current ratio of British military expenditures in GDP has reached 2.2%. But Sunak has repeatedly said that dealing with the current crisis facing the British economy is the top priority. If the two sides cannot reach a consensus, Wallace, a Johnson supporter, may leave office.
Finance Minister Hunt has similar economic philosophies to Sunak, and he almost completely rejected the tax cut policy of the Truss cabinet. However, on October 26, Sunak announced that the new version of the economic plan, which was originally scheduled to be announced on October 31, was postponed to November 17. This may indicate that Sunak and Hunt also need time to get along.
Generally speaking, although Sunak himself, Home Secretary Braverman, the new Conservative Party Whip and Minister-at-Large (a minister of state who is not in charge of the affairs of a certain ministry but is responsible for special important matters not under the jurisdiction of other ministers) Hazawi and others all have immigrant backgrounds, Sunak's new cabinet is still a cabinet with strong characteristics of the Conservative elite.
In the past few years, the Conservative Party's ability to solve the problems of Brexit , immigration and refugees, epidemic prevention, economics and international affairs has been tested. The challenges facing the UK today are even more serious, can they find a solution? Perhaps only time can answer this question.
writing / Xu Lifan (columnist)
editor / He Rui
proofread / Chen Diyan
