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As it happenedended

Cabinet reshuffle - as it happened: Theresa May's attempt at show of strength ruined by ministers refusing to be moved

How the Prime Minister's New Year's reshuffle happened

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
,Lizzy Buchan
Monday 08 January 2018 04:27 EST
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Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle: Key positions

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Theresa May’s attempts to reassert her authority through a Cabinet reshuffle ran into difficulties after senior ministers refused to move from their jobs.

Education Secretary Justine Greening dramatically quit the Government when Ms May tried to move her to the Department of Work and Pensions, leaving the Prime Minister scrambling to promote junior ministers to her top team.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt also spent more than 90 minutes in Downing Street where he resisted Ms May's attempts to persuade him to switch to Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and allow Business Secretary Greg Clark to take on his role.

Cabinet “big beasts” such as Boris Johnson, Philip Hammond and Amber Rudd all kept their jobs, which led to critics quoting the PM's widely mocked election campaign claim that "nothing has changed" - when she made a major U-turn on a social care pledge.

Earlier, the shake-up descended into chaos when the Conservatives’ official Twitter account accidentally put out that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling would become party chairman – before Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis was officially appointed shortly after.

Former Justice Secretary David Lidington was appointed to replace the PM's close ally Damian Green, who was sacked as the Cabinet Office minister and de facto Prime Minister last month for misleading statements over pornography found on his office computer.

A younger and more diverse team of MPs was appointed to hold various Conservative party posts, although the appointment of pro-life MP Maria Caulfield to a prominent women's role attracted controversy.

Please see the live updates below

Here is Sky News questioning Education Secretary outside her home. It has been widely reported over the weekend that Justine Greening will either lose her job or be demoted, following clashes with May over the Government's education policy.

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:09

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:12
Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:26

This is from the Press Association: 

Leaving the EU without a deal is "unthinkable" and would have devastating consequences for the economy, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.

Scotland's First Minister said the prospect of a "no deal" minister being appointed to Theresa May's cabinet "beggars belief" and suggested the Prime Minister was more concerned with appeasing hardliners in her party than securing the best outcome for the country in the Brexit negotiations.

Ms Sturgeon repeated her view that the argument for a second referendum on the final Brexit outcome "may become irresistible" particularly in the event of a no deal scenario.

She told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme she had read reports that a no deal minister could be appointed to Mrs May's cabinet "in despair".

"It seems to give the impression that the UK Government think this is some kind of game, that Theresa May is more concerned with appeasing the hardline Tory Brexiteers than she is about acting in the best interests of the country.

"No deal is unthinkable, let me be absolutely clear, no Brexit is preferable to no deal."

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:32

Anne Milton is tipped by some to be Health Secretary. Her Wikipedia page has just been edited to show her husband no longer works for Virgin Healthcare.

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:40

Reshuffle is expected to start at 11.30, a Downing Street spokesperson has just confirmed. 

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:53
Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 10:57

On BBC Radio 5 Live, Emma Barnett's show is now on. 

She asks Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke whether he's safe. "Who knows?" he replies. "Until you are properly contacted you stay as you are."

What about a promotion? "Anything is possible".

He also says he's not going to get into speculation about reports that Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, is going to be sacked in the reshuffle. 

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 11:10

Asked about whether Jeremy Hunt should be promoted, David Gauke says: "I think Jeremy Hunt has done a good job as Secretary of State for Health.

"It always a challenging department as there are demographic pressures... but I think he has done a difficult job extremely well.

"It's very much for the Prime Minister to make that decision."

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 11:15

From the Sunday Times' Tim Shipman

Ashley Cowburn8 January 2018 11:19

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