Liz Truss is set to appoint a new Cabinet if she takes over at No10
(Picture: )The Tory leadership race comes to an end on Monday, with either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to be announced as the new Prime Minister.
Here is a look at who could make up Liz Truss’s team if she succeeds:
Kwasi Kwarteng
Close Truss ally Kwasi Kwarteng, 47, is tipped to be chancellor. A fellow free marketeer, he is a straight-talker who urged people to get back to the workplace as Covid eased. He lives near Ms Truss in Greenwich, was elected MP for Spelthorne in 2010 and co-authored, with other Tory MPs includng Ms Truss and Dominic Raab, the 2012 book Britannia Unchained which suggested British employees needed a stronger work ethic.
Therese Coffey
A long-term friend of Ms Truss, Liverpool and karaoke fan Ms Coffey is tipped to stay in the Cabinet, having been her campaign manager during the parliamentary stages of the Tory leadership contest. Ms Coffey, 50, became the first female MP for Suffolk Coastal when she was elected in 2010. She has served as work and pensions secretary for three years, has a PhD in chemistry, and worked previously for Mars.
Kemi Badenoch
Former equalities minister Ms Badenoch, 42, sprang to prominence during the Tory leadership contest with her anti-woke campaign arguing for a smaller state. Born in Wimbledon, she grew up in Nigeria, the US and UK and worked as a software engineer, also mentoring women seeking a career in technology. A former London Assembly member, she has been mooted as a possible education secretary.
Sir John Redwood
Sir John, 71, one of the strongest keepers of the Thatcherite flame, has not been in government since he was Welsh secretary in 1995. But as chief policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s, he is tipped to pick up a ministerial brief in Ms Truss’ team. Dover-born Sir John stood in Peckham in the 1982 election and became Wokingham MP in 1987. A businessman by background, he has championed tax cuts.
James Cleverly
As an ex-chairman of the London Fire Authority, Lewisham-born Mr Cleverly is used to putting out political blazes and is expected to be rewarded for his sure-footedness in a string of posts including as education secretary and at the Foreign Office, to where he could return as foreign secretary. Before being elected MP for Braintree in 2015, Mr Cleverly, 52, served on the London Assembly, his military career having been cut short by injury.
Suella Braverman
Born in Harrow, Ms Braverman has a masters in European and French law from the Pantheon-Sorbonne, Paris, having also qualified as an attorney in New York State. As Britain’s attorney general, the Fareham MP, 42, reportedly defended tearing up the Northern Ireland Protocol. If she becomes home secretary, there could be tension with the judiciary as she believes powers should be taken back from UK judges, as well as the EU.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith
Could the former Tory leader and MP for Chingford and Woodford Green be on the brink of another comeback to frontbench politics? As work and pensions Secretary in David Cameron’s first adminis- tration, he pioneered the landmark Universal Credit welfare reforms. Now the ardent Brexiteer, 68, a former army officer, who set up the Centre for Social Justice, is being tipped for a return to ministerial office.
Penny Mordaunt
Former magician’s assistant Ms Mordaunt came third in the Tory leadership contest, having been favourite at one stage to be the next PM when she came second in the first round of voting by MPs, just behind Rishi Sunak, 88 votes to 67. Navy reservist Ms Mordaunt, 49, became Britain’s first female defence secretary in May 2019 and is trade minister. She grew up in Portsmouth and has represented the city in Parliament since 2010.
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