Last Thursday, David Cameron became the first Tory Prime Minister to win a majority since 1992. His narrow margin of just 12 seats in the House of Commons probably means that at some point he will need the Liberal Democrats, DUP or the UUP to get some legislation passed.
Today he held the first meeting of his new Conservative cabinet.
Courtesy of the BBC, here are the changes from the last cabinet;
- Amber Rudd is Energy and Climate Change Secretary, while Anna Soubry and Priti Patel will attend cabinet as small business and employment ministers.
- Greg Hands is Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
- Veteran Tory MP John Whittingdale is Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
- Sajid Javid is Business Secretary.
- Robert Halfon is deputy chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister Without Portfolio.
- Grant Shapps has moved from party chairman to International Development Minister.
- Boris Johnson is not a minister but will attend separate Tory “political cabinet” meetings.
One other noteworthy appointment is the promotion of George Osbourne to First Secretary of State (basically Deputy PM) a position held by Peter Mandelson in the last Labour government.
Locally, Theresa Villiers remains the Northern Ireland Secretary.
If you want a guide to the current cabinet here it is
David McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs
