Liz Truss during a Cabinet meeting under Boris Johnson
(Picture: PA Wire)Liz Truss has unveiled her Cabinet having been formally invited to form a Government by Her Majesty the Queen.
Among the top appointments are new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, new Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Ms Truss set about quickly shaping her top team, sacking prominent Rishi Sunak backers Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps, and Steve Barclay, shortly after giving a speech to the nation from outside No10.
The new Cabinet
- Liz Truss Prime Minister
- Therese Coffey, deputy Prime Minister, Health Secretary
- Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor
- James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary
- Suella Braverman, Home Secretary
- Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary
- Brandon Lewis, Justice Secretary
- Jacob Rees-Mogg, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary
- Nadhim Zahawi, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and Minister for Equalities
- Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council
- Kemi Badenoch, International Trade Secretary
- Chloe Smith, Work and Pensions Secretary
- Kit Malthouse, Education Secretary
- Ranil Jayawardena, Environment secretary
- Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Transport Secretary
- Michelle Donelan, Culture Secretary
- Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland secretary
- Alister Jack, Scotland secretary
- Robert Buckland, Wales Secretary
- Lord True, Lord privy seal and leader of the House of Lords
- Jake Berry, minister without portfolio and Conservative party chairman
- Alok Sharma, Cop26 president
- Simon Clarke, Levelling up, Housing and Communities secretary
Attending Cabinet
- Wendy Morton, chief whip and parliamentary secretary to the Treasury
- Chris Philp, chief secretary to the Treasury
- Michael Ellis QC, Attorney General
- Edward Argar, Paymaster General and minister for the Cabinet Office
- Vicky Ford, Minister for Development at the Foreign Office
- Tom Tugendhat, Minister for Security at the home department
- James Heappey, Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans at the Ministry of Defence
- Graham Stuart, Minister for Climate at the business department
Chancellor
Liz Truss loyalist, Kwasi Kwarteng, has been confirmed as the next Chancellor of the Exchequer, as widely expected.
Mr Kwarteng, who has served as Business Secretary since 2021, will face the daunting task of helping to craft the Government’s response to the energy price crisis.
Foreign Secretary
A vocal supporter of Liz Truss, James Cleverly has become the next Foreign Secretary.
Mr Cleverly was previously the Education Secretary and has also previously served as a minister in the Foreign Office.
Home Secretary
Suella Braverman, the Attorney General, has taken over from Priti Patel as Home Secretary under Liz Truss.
Ms Braverman launched her own bid to become Prime Minister but was knocked out in a vote of MPs and so did not appear on a ballot before Conservative Party members.
Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister
Considered to be among Ms Truss’s closest friends in politics, Therese Coffey became the new Health and Social Care Secretary, taking over from Steve Barclay. She was also made the new Deputy Prime Minister.
The former Department for Work and Pensions Secretary will face the challenge of sorting a plan for the NHS without the guarantee of extra funds from the soon-to-be-canned national insurance hike.
Defence Secretary
Ben Wallace will continue in his role at the Ministry of Defence. The popular Cabinet minister was a favourite for the top job of Prime Minister in early polling of Tory members, but later ruled himself out of the contest.
Justice Secretary
The former Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, who initially backed Nadhim Zahawi before pledging his support to Ms Truss, has taken over Dominic Raab as Justice Secretary.
Levelling Up Secretary
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke, has taken over as Levelling Up Secretary, previously held by Greg Clark, and by Michael Gove.
International Trade Secretary
Kemi Badenoch, was confirmed as the new International Trade Secretary, taking over from Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
Ms Badenoch, who performed well in the Westminster stage of the leadership contest finishing fourth, had been tipped for a role in Ms Truss’s team.
Education Secretary
Kit Malthouse, the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will be the new Education Secretary.
This is more of an unexpected appointment than some of the others, as some had tipped Michelle Donelan, who resigned from the post less than 36 hours after accepting it as Boris Johnson’s premiership collapsed around him in July, to take the post instead.
Work and Pensions Secretary
Ms Truss’s fellow Norfolk MP Chloe Smith will take over Therese Coffey’s former role at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Transport Secretary
Anne-Marie Trevelyan was appointed as Transport Secretary, taking over the portfolio from Grant Shapps.
Ms Trevelyan had previously been International Trade Secretary. She will face dealing with a slew of strikes affecting the transport network.
Business Secretary
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the minister for Brexit opportunities and Government efficiency has been confirmed as Business Secretary.
He said a new package would be brought forward to help households with energy bills, but declined to go into details, in an interview with Sky News after his appointment.
Environment Secretary
Ranil Jayawardena was appointed as the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
