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
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Your support makes all the difference.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
New: Jeremy Hunt remains Health Secretary - with "social care" added to his title.
New: Greg Clark MP remains Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - despite reports he would be sacked this morning.
This is from the Press Association on the Downing Street briefing just now:
Downing Street said Mr Lidington will be first choice to deputise for Mrs May at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons when she is unable to attend.
And the PM's official spokesman said Mr Lidington will chair "a significant number" of the influential cabinet committees which were previously the responsibility of Mr Green, including several which deal with aspects of Brexit.
Asked why he had not been given his predecessor's title of first secretary of state, the spokesman said: "First secretary of state is a title which the Prime Minister chooses when to use and when not to use."
The spokesman said: "She believes David Lidington will perform this job, which is chairing cabinet committees and doing a great deal of liaison work, with great skill.
"David Lidington has a wealth of experience, including as minister for Europe."
New: David Gauke leaves Work and Pensions to become Justice Secretary
This is from the Press Association on Jeremy Hunt's slight role change:
Leading doctors have welcomed Downing Street's decision to merge health and social care into one political portfolio.
The Royal College of GPs said the state of social care "profoundly" impacts the NHS.
Downing Street announced that Jeremy Hunt's job title has changed from Health Secretary to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Commenting on the move, Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: "This is a critical role at a critical time for general practice and the wider NHS and we will continue to work constructively with Jeremy Hunt in his expanded role as Secretary of State for both health and social care in England.
"We support the bringing together of health and social care into the portfolio of one minister as we recognise that what happens to patients in the NHS is profoundly impacted by the state of social care."
The reappointment comes just a week after Mr Hunt was forced to apologise to patients whose appointments and operations had been delayed as a result of winter pressures in the NHS in England.
Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, urged the Health and Social Care Secretary to engage more with frontline staff about the "key issues" facing the NHS.
"We want to see much better engagement with clinicians and we would be happy to meet with Mr Hunt at any time to discuss the key issues," he said.
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