Rishi Sunak holds first Cabinet meet, braces for the ‘big test’ of UK politics
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday held his first Cabinet meeting with the new team as he prepares for his debut at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ), his first big test.
On his first full day as Prime Minister, Sunak met his new Cabinet before facing Opposition leader Keir Starmer in PMQs at midday, the BBC reported. A picture of the new Cabinet has also been reportedly released.
PMQs is a high-profile weekly event in UK politics. It happens every Wednesday at noon, when the House of Commons sits. For around half an hour, the PM is called to the despatch box in the Commons chamber to answer questions from MPs on any subject. The leader of the Opposition can ask six questions, which is usually the rowdiest part of the spectacle.
Bid to unite Tories
Sunak on Tuesday unveiled his top team and made key Cabinet appointments. He decided to retain Jeremy Hunt as the Chancellor for economic stability. In another move aimed at continuity, James Cleverly will stay in his post as Foreign Secretary despite not being a Sunak loyalist.
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Sunak has pledged to govern with “integrity” and has tried to unite the Conservatives by including people from different wings of the party in his top team. Minister without portfolio Nadhim Zahawi told journalists the party was “very, very united” as he departed after the Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street.
Opposition questions Braverman’s return
However, Sunak’s move to bring back Indian-origin and fellow Brexiteer Suella Braverman as Home Secretary has not gone down well with the Opposition. Labour Party has reportedly criticised the decision to reappoint her only six days after she resigned over data breaches.
However, Cleverly defended Sunak’s decision to reappoint Braverman, popular on the Tory right, as the home secretary. “She said she made a mistake and apologised for that,” Cleverly told the BBC. He added that Braverman has promised to crack down on crime and secure borders while in the Home Office.
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Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson claimed Braverman was back in her job as the result of a “grubby deal” that helped Sunak “get over the line and become prime minister.” Speaking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, she argued that this called into question Sunak’s pledge to run a government of integrity.
“Way, way ahead”
Asked about that, Cleverly said Sunak was “way, way, way ahead” during the latest Conservative leadership contest. “I doubt that he needed any particular individual’s endorsement,” he stated.
Sunak, 42, is an investment banker-turned-politician. He is the youngest British Prime Minister in 210 years and the country’s first Hindu Prime Minister. Sunak’s dramatic victory in the Tory leadership race came following Liz Truss’s resignation last Thursday after a disastrous tax-cutting mini-Budget and several policy U-turns.
(With agency inputs)
