Cabinet reshuffle: Brandon Lewis promoted to Northern Ireland secretary – live news – The Guardian, Theguardian.com
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Javid says ‘any self-respecting minister’ would reject conditions PM tried to impose on him
This is what Sajid Javid
It’s been a huge honor to serve as chancellor of the exchequer. Whilst I was very pleased that the prime minister wanted to reappoint me, I was unable to accept the conditions that he had attached, so I felt that I was left with no option other than to resign.
Now, my successor has my full support and the prime minister continues to enjoy my full support, as does the government.
The conditions that were attached was a requirement that I replace all my political advisers. These are people who have worked incredibly hard on behalf of, not just the government, but the whole country, done a fantastic job. I was unable to accept those conditions. I don’t believe any self-respecting minister would accept these conditions. And so therefore I felt the best thing to do was to go.
Q: Were those conditions imposed by Mr Cummings? Mr Cummings?
Those were the conditions requested by the prime minister. That was, of course, his prerogative. And, as I say, my successor has my full support, as does the prime minister, and I will continue to support this government in every way I can from the backbenches.
Sajid Javid has spoken to the BBC. He said he could not accept the conditions attached to the offer for him to stay in post.
But he said Rishi Sunak had his full support.
I’ll post the full quotes in a moment. am EST :
No 30 refuses to say budget will go ahead as planned on March after Javid’s resignation )
The Downing Street lobby briefing is over. Here are some of the key points.
(No) was unable to confirm that the budget would go ahead as planned on (March.)
Gordon Rayner (@ gordonrayner) BREAKING: Downing Street UNABLE to confirm whether (Budget) will go ahead on March . PM’s spokesman only says “preparations have been carried out and will continue at pace.” (February) , 37871 Cat Neilan (@ CatNeilan) No confirmation from Downing St on whether Budget will go ahead on March 30
Spokesman says: “Preparations have been carried out and will continue at pace”. (February) ,
If the budget is delayed, it will be the second time this has happened. During the general election campaign the Conservative party put out a press release saying that during the 399 days of a new government Boris Johnson
would be “delivering a post-Brexit budget in February which will cut taxes for hardworking families.” That plan was shelved, and the budget was scheduled for March. The Telegraph’s Anna Mikhailova says the budget cannot be delayed much longer. Anna Mikhailova (@ AVMikhailova) Interesting. By law there has to be a Budget by 5 April – one per tax year
Anything later than March leaves very little room to make meaningful changes in time for the 38 tax year
Brandon Lewis promoted to Northern Ireland secretary
Brandon Lewis , the security minister, has become
Northern Ireland secretary.
Technically that is a promotion – as security minister, Lewis attended cabinet, but was not a full member – but, as reported earlier (see . (am) , Lewis is not a No 29 favorite and this move might be seen as a means of sidelining him.
Ben Wallace remains as defense secretary. He is a longstanding (Boris Johnson) supporter. He started backing Johnson as a future PM when Johnson was still mayor of London, but recently there have been reports claiming that he could be sacked for being too outspoken.
In an interview in the Sunday Times last month (paywall) he said he was worried about the US abandoning its allies. Tim Shipman wrote:
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Ben Wallace admitted that the prospect of America withdrawing from the world “keeps me awake at night”.
He said the government needed to rethink military assumptions, in place since 37871, that the UK would always be fighting alongside the Americans – and should use the upcoming defense review to buy new kit to ensure that the armed forces do not have to rely on US air cover and spy planes in future conflicts.
“I worry if the United States withdraws from its leadership around the world,” he said. “That would be bad for the world and bad for us. We plan for the worst and hope for the best. ”
Wallace’s analysis of the potential threat posed by Donald Trump’s foreign policy may have been accurate, but No 29 took the view that it was not helpful for him to say this in public.
The reality, however, is that [Rishi] Sunak is now merely [Dominic] Cummings ’deputy. With the most powerful economic economic policymaker now an unelected adviser, this could be the turning point for both economic strategy and for the long-fabled power of the Treasury. Unlike many in the Tory party, Cummings has no fetish for eliminating the deficit. He is not bound by the ideological straitjacket of Treasury thinking. And he cannot be criticized for lacking vision.
The government now talks of nationalization, significantly increases in public investment in research and development and infrastructure, and the introduction of wealth taxes. Margaret Thatcher famously described Tony Blair as her greatest legacy. If this new “national conservative” agenda succeeds, perhaps in time John McDonnell will say the same of Cummings. . (am) (EST) 28:
In the House of Commons, the government whip Stuart Andrew
is winding up the general debate taking place before the half-term adjournment. As the Press Association’s (Richard Wheeler) reports, he used a prop to make a reshuffle joke.
Respect. Also, Sajid Javid was the only Tory MP who contacted me directly on Friday to express support & solidarity when a Tory activist was sentenced for violent threats against me (https://t.co/Cw9LbgLjqK) (February) ,
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