Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson named the first of his new front bench ministers on Wednesday night, just hours after moving into 10 Downing Street.
In what has been the biggest political reshuffle since the early 1960s, more than half of government ministers who served under former Prime Minister Theresa May were either sacked or resigned.
As Johnson handed out jobs, thousands of protesters converged in Whitehall Wednesday night, gathering around the entrance to Downing Street. Officers from the Metropolitan Police were forced to form a line across the entrance to Downing Street.
Reacting to the big changes at the top, Tom Watson, deputy leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said: “This huge cull will lead to early collapse of Johnson’s government, bringing a general election that much closer.”
The call for a speedy general election was echoed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who said: “We need a general election and a Labour government that works for the many not the privileged few.”
Sajid Javid, who was Home Secretary in May’s government, was named as new Chancellor of the Exchequer, succeeding Philip Hammond who resigned.
Now in charge of interior matters as the new Home Secretary is 47-year-old Priti Patel, who served under May as International Development Secretary until she resigned.
The new Foreign Secretary is former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.
He replaces Jeremy Hunt, the politician who went head-to-head with Johnson in the battle to be leader of the Conservative Party.
Media reports claimed Hunt had been offered a new job in Johnson’s government but rejected what he considered a demotion from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In an extraordinary day in British politics, outgoing Prime Minister May ended her last day in office at her final Prime Minister’s Question Time.
May then made the short journey to Buckingham Palace to offer her resignation to Queen Elizabeth, followed soon after by Johnson’s journey to the palace, to be invited by the British monarch to form the new government.
He then headed to his new home at 10 Downing Street where among the people waiting to greet him was his girlfriend Carrie Symonds.
In a rousing speech aimed at the nation, Johnson promised that Britain would leave the European Union on October 31. –Xinhua
