Rishi Sunak reshuffle – live: PM finally replaces Zahawi, but Raab survives

Good morning, welcome to our coverage of political developments in the UK on Tuesday, 7 February.

Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil a mini-reshuffle today as he looks to improve his party’s disastrous poll ratings, as well as replace the sacked Nadhim Zahawi.

It has been a week since the prime minister dismissed Mr Zahawi as Tory party chair for breaching the ministerial code over his tax affairs scandal and, with no successor having yet been named, reports suggest Mr Sunak has been plotting a broader shake-up of his top team.

The overhaul could potentially stretch to include the makeup of the government itself, amid fresh claims that the PM is considering breaking up the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy into separate ministries.

Andy Gregory reports here:

Rishi Sunak is looking to split up Michelle Donelan’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and create culture and sport as their own standalone departments, The Sun reported.

Mr Sunak alternatively opt to make culture and sport one department, with a new ministry dedicated to science and digital, according to the paper.

“The focus is making government work better but in reality, it leaves senior ministers looking over their shoulder and leaves a big question over the future of [Dominic] Raab who faces a bullying inquiry,” a source said.

Rishi Sunak’s administration has suffered from a series of scandals, some partly inherited from Boris Johnson’s time in Downing Street.

His tenure — which passed 100 days late last week — has also been plagued by poor poll ratings, probes into his ministers’ conduct and some major policy climb-downs, leaving his authority among Tory MPs already under threat.

The Independent takes a closer look at the sleaze problems and rebellions swirling around Mr Sunak as he tries to reset his premiership ahead of crucial local elections.

Dominic Raab is expected to survive a potential reshuffle today as prime minister Rishi Sunak has indicated he would wait for the outcome of an inquiry into the deputy prime minister’s conduct before taking any action.

Mr Raab, who is also the justice secretary, is being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC over bullying allegations – with dozens of officials thought to be involved in eight formal complaints. Mr Raab has denied the bullying allegations.

New polling for The Independent shows more than one-third of Conservative voters view the Tories as “the party of sleaze” as Rishi Sunak struggles to draw a line under the scandal-laden era of Boris Johnson.

The Savanta ComRes survey found that 45 per cent of voters view the Tories as the party sleaze – including 37 per cent of those who voted Conservative at the 2019 election.

Only 1 in 10 voters (11 per cent) view Mr Sunak’s party as “moral”. In comparison, 38 per cent say Labour is the party of “morals” and only 14 per cent view the opposition as the party of sleaze.

Read the full story here:

The potential cabinet overhaul by Rishi Sunak is expected to be “relatively limited” with a “domino effect” caused by the naming of a successor for Nadhim Zahawi, reported The Times, citing a government source.

The prime minister is expected to appoint a new Tory party chair, after he sacked Mr Zahawi over his tax affairs more than a week ago.

Since entering office Rishi Sunak has taken private helicopter trips to North Yorkshire worth thousands of pounds, reports The Guardian.

The commute to his Richmond constituency from a London heliport is expected to spark further questions about Mr Sunak’s pledge to tackle the climate crisis.

The PM is believed to have used private helicopters from London on dates in November and December, costing about £16,000. These were privately funded rather than being paid for by the taxpayer, the report added.

Downing Street has not commented on the report so far.

The NHS is bracing itself for more disruptions this week and more strikes today as the government has been accused of being “on strike” itself with prime minister Rishi Sunak, health secretary Steve Barclay and business secretary Grant Shapps reported to be “missing in action”.

Health leaders monitoring the crisis said that the service is anticipating an “incredibly disrupted week” as it faces strikes by nurses, ambulance staff and physiotherapists.

Monday saw the largest strike in NHS history and more upheaval is expected today as nurses continue their strike action.

Tens of thousands of workers in England have staged walkouts, including members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) alongside GMB and Unite paramedics, call handlers and other staff at ambulance trusts.

BBC chairman Richard Sharp faces a grilling by MPs after the disclosure that he helped Boris Johnson secure a loan of up to £800,000 before the then-prime minister backed his appointment to lead the broadcaster.

Mr Sharp will appear before the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee on Tuesday morning to face questions on his involvement in Mr Johnson’s financial affairs before getting the job.

The cross-party panel of MPs is set to challenge him over his apparent failure to tell them about the arrangement at his pre-appointment hearing in January 2021.

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