Prime Minister Theresa May launches a major revamp of her Cabinet Monday Jan 08,2018

Theresa May launched a major revamp of Tory HQ  Monday Jan 08,2018, appointing a new chairman and bringing in a raft of young and ethnic minority MPs.

Sir Patrick McLoughlin resigned, shouldering the blame for lacklustre party organisation during the election and problems with the stage set at October's party conference.

The ex-chairman said he accepted the need for new blood, telling Mrs May there was plenty of talent to bring forward.

The Prime Minister said she wanted to put the party on a 'strong footing to fight and win the next general election'.

Her new team will implement the results of a party review into what went wrong at the polls last June. They will also attempt to turn around the slow decline in membership, which stood at around a million when Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990.

It was 250,000 when David Cameron took over as leader in 2005. But it is now put at 70,000 and only 10,000 of those are thought to be aged under 30.

Sir Patrick was replaced by Brandon Lewis, a former barrister and council leader in Essex who has impressed as immigration minister and is considered a good performer in TV interviews. Mrs May also hired several young and ethnic minority MPs to inject renewed energy into Conservative Campaign Headquarters.

James Cleverly has been made party deputy chairman just two years after entering parliament. Confident and straight talking, he is also one of the few Tory MPs to impress on social media. Always ready with a quip, he relishes baiting Labour MPs on Twitter.

The 48-year-old is the son of an English surveyor and a midwife mother from Sierra Leone.

Kemi Badenoch, a pro-Brexit MP born in London and raised in Nigeria who entered parliament in June, is vice chairman for candidates. She wowed party members when introducing Mrs May at October's party conference.

Ben Bradley, who is 28 and won the Mansfield seat from Labour last year, becomes vice chairman for youth. Pakistan-born Rehman Chishti and mixed-race ex-sport minister Helen Grant become vice chairmen for communities.

Abortion campaigners condemned Mrs May's decision to appoint a pro-life MP to the post of Tory vice chairman for women. Maria Caulfield, a former nurse who grew up on a council estate, led opposition to a parliamentary bid to decriminalise terminations.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, a major abortion provider, described the decision as profoundly disappointing. 'We are shocked that the Conservative Party has decided to appoint as their vice chair for women an MP who supports the criminalisation of women who end their own pregnancies,' said a spokesman.

But Conservative MPs hit back, accusing pro-choice groups of 'trolling' a politician simply for holding a different view.

Miss Caulfield, MP for Lewes since 2015, will be expected to help devise campaigns to persuade more women to back the party.

Chris Skidmore, Andrew Jones and Marcus Jones gave up junior ministerial positions to take up roles as vice chairmen for policy, business and local government respectively. James Morris becomes vice chairman for training and development.

Esther McVey has been appointed Work and Pensions Secretary in a remarkable comeback.

The former television star, who previously attended Cabinet as an employment minister under David Cameron, was the most high-profile Tory casualty of 2015 when she was ousted from Wirral West by Labour.

She returned to Parliament last June after taking George Osborne's former seat in Tatton, and was made deputy chief whip in November. Now she returns to the Cabinet table in charge of the Department of Work and Pensions.

Miss McVey, 50, who found fame as a GMTV presenter, is one of the party's strongest media performers.

She lost her seat two years ago after a union-led campaign in her constituency, which was surrounded by Labour seats. 

Former justice secretary David Lidington will move into the Cabinet Office to act as Theresa May's Whitehall 'fixer'.

Stationed next door to No10, he will become Mrs May's right-hand man, chairing vital policy committees overseeing Brexit.

He takes over from Damian Green, who was sacked last month after an inquiry found he failed to tell the truth about pornography found on his office computer.

However, though he has been named Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Aylesbury MP will not take Mr Green's former title of First Secretary of State.

Despite not having the prestige of the de facto deputy prime minister role, Mr Lidington's new job will hand him significant power as chairman of a number of important committees. Many of these concern Brexit, meaning the former minister for Europe will have a significant say over the process of leaving the EU.

The Remainer will also stand in for Mrs May at Prime Minister's Questions when she is away on business. Asked why Mr Lidington had not been given his predecessor's title, No10 said: 'First Secretary of State is a title which the Prime Minister chooses when to use and when not to use. She believes David Lidington will perform this job ... with great skill.'

George Osborne's former protege Matt Hancock was promoted to the Cabinet yesterday.

He becomes Culture Secretary, a step up from the digital minister role he has filled in the same department for 18 months.

His responsibilities now range from arts, museums and the internet to gambling, the BBC, Press regulation and sport.

The appointment illustrates the continuing influence of Mr Osborne despite being sacked as Chancellor by Mrs May when she became Prime Minister. Mr Hancock was Mr Osborne's chief of staff before he was elected MP for West Suffolk in 2010.

Three years later he was brought into Government as a business minister by David Cameron following the then-Chancellor's intervention. He was soon promoted to Cabinet Office minister before being demoted to digital minister in 2016.

His new remit will include regulation of internet giants such as Facebook and Twitter.

A nurse, Pakistan PM's former aide and a rising star aged just 28 

 

 

1. JAMES MORRIS, MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis (vice chairman, Training and Development): A former small-business owner, the little-known MP since 2010 has never made ministerial rank.

2. HELEN GRANT, MP for Maidstone and The Weald (vice chairman, Communities): Solicitor and former Labour Party member who switched sides and became a Tory MP in 2010. The mother of two was promoted quickly by David Cameron to sports minister, but was seen as having under-performed and was sacked in 2015. 

3. MARCUS JONES, MP for Nuneaton (vice chairman, Local Government): Former council leader and MP since 2010, he held several ministerial bag-carrying jobs before becoming a junior local government minister. 

4. REHMAN CHISHTI, MP for Gillingham and Rainham (vice chairman, Communities): Pakistani-born, he grew up in Gillingham, and worked as a criminal barrister. Political adviser to former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto aged 21, then worked for Tories in opposition. Became an MP in 2010. 

5. BRANDON LEWIS, MP for Great Yarmouth (chairman, Tory Party).

6. JAMES CLEVERLY, MP for Braintree (deputy chairman, Tory Party): One of the party's rising stars, the former Territorial Army officer and father of two became an MP only two years ago. Pro-Brexit. 

7. KEMI BADENOCH, MP for Saffron Walden (vice chairman, Candidates): Born in London but raised in Nigeria, she came to the UK aged 16 and stayed for A-levels and university. Has praised the 'British dream' that allowed her to go from immigrant to MP. Wowed the Tory faithful when she introduced Theresa May at last year's party conference. Pro-Brexit. 

8. CHRIS SKIDMORE, MP for Kingswood (vice chairman, Policy): An Oxford-educated historian, he has written several books about Tudor England. Held a junior Cabinet Office ministerial post. 

9. MARIA CAULFIELD, MP for Lewes (vice chairman, Women): The 44-year-old Conservative Christian Fellowship member has been an MP since 2015. A former nurse, she grew up on council estates in the South London boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth and did not go to university. 

10. BEN BRADLEY, MP for Mansfield (vice chairman, Youth): A 28-year-old father of two and former council leader who, against the odds, took Mansfield from Labour last year. He has called for an inspiring, positive message to win back young people to the party.