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Ben Wallace resigns - Cabinet mini-reshuffle underway

Ben Wallace resigned as defence secretary this morning, sparking a small Cabinet reshuffle.

The new appointments are:

•

Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence

•

Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

•

David Johnston - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education.



News of Shapps' appointment has resulted in mixed reactions.

BBC live feed: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-66668968
(edited 3 months ago)
I like how we didn't even pretend to appoint someone competent.
Grant Shapps as defence secretary and potentially Ursula von der Leyen as the next NATO secretary-general is not necessarily what I'd have chosen on behalf of the West... :redface:
Reply 3
Avatar for Gazpacho.
Gazpacho.
10
The subtext of Wallace’s resignation letter: Conservative incompetence has left the MoD in such a mess that I couldn’t fix it.
So are we joining the Russians now in this new Shapps and Awe chapter of the war? all change for half time?
Original post by StriderHort
I like how we didn't even pretend to appoint someone competent.

I have to admit that this is a thought that crossed my mind too :lol:
I'm not quite sure whether Shapps is incompetent or if he's just moved around so much that he's never had long enough to see anything through!

A tweet from Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant calling him a 'ministerie-hopper' was getting a lot of love earlier :lol:
Original post by Saracen's Fez
I'm not quite sure whether Shapps is incompetent or if he's just moved around so much that he's never had long enough to see anything through!

A tweet from Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant calling him a 'ministerie-hopper' was getting a lot of love earlier :lol:

:rofl:
To (it looks like?) complete the picture, the new schools minister is David Johnston, who I had literally never heard of before today.

He was CEO for the Social Mobility Foundation for a decade before entering parliament, so presumably has an interest in the field.
Original post by Saracen's Fez
To (it looks like?) complete the picture, the new schools minister is David Johnston, who I had literally never heard of before today.

He was CEO for the Social Mobility Foundation for a decade before entering parliament, so presumably has an interest in the field.

That's been added to the OP now :smile:
Original post by Saracen's Fez
he's never had long enough to see anything through!


I just near lurched out my chair, knuckles white and lungs clenched at the very idea of the ravages against decency inflicted on humans by Grant Shapps with some follow through to his generally ruinous malaise
Original post by StriderHort
I just near lurched out my chair, knuckles white and lungs clenched at the very idea of the ravages against decency inflicted on humans by Grant Shapps with some follow through to his generally ruinous malaise


He did at least put together somewhat of a proper plan for coherent rail reorganisation/renationalisation! (I can quibble with some of the detail of the plan and the name – and some of the god-awful new signage that's started to appear around the network as a result – but he did at least produce something!)
Original post by Saracen's Fez
To (it looks like?) complete the picture, the new schools minister is David Johnston, who I had literally never heard of before today.

He was CEO for the Social Mobility Foundation for a decade before entering parliament, so presumably has an interest in the field.



The new Minister for Crumbling Schools?
Original post by StriderHort
I like how we didn't even pretend to appoint someone competent.

Where are these competent people that could be appointed?
Reply 14
Avatar for Rakas21
Rakas21
21
Shapps is perceived as being good at communication and a moderate/loyal to Sunak (Shapps is a Cameroon). I don't actually mind him.

Claire Coutinho is another tick on the diversity box (like Sunak, of Indian heritage) and also a Sunak advisor in the Treasury. Given that the treasury and number 10 in the UK essentially dictate what the Energy department does (ideally it would have some meat to itself), it's a good spot for a perceived talent.

Johnston is a relatively young nobody who voted for Brexit, went to a comprehensive and then Oxford and is an OBE.

https://www.politics.co.uk/reference/johnston-david/

So one pick who's not a suprise and two who are media friendly unknowns. Nothing you would not expect from an inoffensive technocrat.

My verdict is therefore that he gets a thumbs up from me. Boris drew most of the political capital the Tories were going to get from Ukraine and the war is at a relative standstill now that Russia has resorted to trench warfare so PR is probably more preferable than action for Sunak. Likewise, most of the talent that has not already decided to jump ship at the next election already has position and Energy is midling.

The bigger positive and unwritten story here is that Sunak has quietely beaten the liberals on Braverman who retains her position (for reference, i don't love Braverman but we cannot have anybody soft in the Home Office and she's prepared to take the hit).
Is Ben wallace the comedian that was calling the Russians the nazis a while back?
Remember when this guy was supposed to become the next Prime Minister after Boris Johnson resigned?
Original post by Driving_Mad
Remember when this guy was supposed to become the next Prime Minister after Boris Johnson resigned?


I don’t think there are many people who actually thought that would happen.
Original post by CatusStarbright
I don’t think there are many people who actually thought that would happen.

He was the 1st or 2nd favourite at one point right after the resignation, but I remember him saying he didn’t want to become the Prime Minister. Ben Wallace is the military dude right?
Original post by Driving_Mad
He was the 1st or 2nd favourite at one point right after the resignation, but I remember him saying he didn’t want to become the Prime Minister. Ben Wallace is the military dude right?

Yes. He chose not to stand. Had he stood, he might well have won, as he was consistently the most popular cabinet minister with Tory members, and seemed to be well-respected among MPs.

That said, his policy platform outside of defence and security issues was not overly clear.

More relevant to this decision seem to be that it had become clear that he wasn't going to be the next NATO secretary-general (France didn't want a Brit, and the US weren't fussed enough to fight for Wallace), and that his seat has been effectively abolished in the boundary changes and he's made no effort to seek a new seat (again, you'd think this would be a formality for someone of such high grassroots popularity if he wanted to find one).

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