Rishi Sunak carried out a minor reshuffle of his cabinet this morning and announced a shake up some Government departments
Sunak appointed Greg Hands as the new Party Chairman after last week’s sacking of Nadhim Zahawi
Hands is seen in Westminster as a safe pair of hands will face the task of preparing the Tory party machine for a difficult set of local elections coming up in May
Lee Anderson has been announced as the new deputy chairman of Conservative Party.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has been broken up to create a special energy department titled ‘Energy Security and Net Zero’.
This will be led by former business secretary Grant Shapps. This department has been ‘tasked with securing our long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and halving inflation’.
There is a new science ministry titled the ‘Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’ which will be led by former culture secretary Michelle Donelan.
The purpose of the new department is to ‘drive the innovation that will deliver improved public services, create new and better-paid jobs and grow the economy’. It also reflects Sunak’s personal ambition for his premiership to focus on science and innovation.
The Department for International Trade merges with the business part of BEIS. Kemi Badenoch takes on the new business brief on top of her current role running trade.
Her new title is Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
DCMS becomes CMS – the department for Culture, Media and Sport. This will be led by new culture secretary Lucy Frazer.
Rishi Sunak says the changes will “focus teams on the issues that will build a better future for our children and grandchildren”.
“The government needs to reflect the priorities of the British people and be designed to deliver for them,” he tweeted
