Liz Truss’s cabinet is taking shape, so far with few surprises as the new prime minister names allies to key posts. Much discussion has centred on the diversity of the top team, with Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and Suella Braverman as home secretary.
Truss’s first announced appointment is also noteworthy. She named Thérèse Coffey, one of her closest friends in politics, as deputy prime minister (DPM). In doing so, Truss has broken a longstanding political glass ceiling. Coffey is the first female DPM.
There is no set job description for the DPM. It’s merely a title given by the prime minister to a senior colleague. As it’s not an official appointment, holding some other, more constitutionally secure position is a requirement of being DPM simply to be awarded a salary. In Coffey’s case, her necessary side hustle is as secretary of state for health and social care. Her predecessor as DPM, the Rishi Sunak-supporting Dominic Raab, was also lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice.
