British PM in limited, chaotic reshuffle

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May sought to refresh her government with a ministerial reshuffle Monday as she faces a crucial year for Brexit, but the shake-up was limited and marred by a botched announcement.

A new chairman of May’s Conservative party was announced on Twitter, only for the tweet to be deleted and another lawmaker named for the post.

It was an inauspicious start to a process described as a “refresh” by Downing Street, following a tough year in which the prime minister lost her parliamentary majority and faced calls to quit.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit minister David Davis and finance minister Philip Hammond kept their jobs in the reshuffle, prompted by the sacking of May’s deputy Damian Green last month.

He was the third minister to leave the Cabinet in the space of a few weeks, after the defence secretary and international development minister both quit — all three following separate scandals.

The chairman of the Conservative party, Patrick McLoughlin, was the first to go on Monday in a chaotic start to two days of announcements.

His replacement was announced on Twitter, only for the tweet to be swiftly deleted — with a different man, junior immigration minister Brandon Lewis, then being confirmed to the role.

“No wonder Theresa May’s struggling to negotiate Brexit — she can’t even organise a reshuffle,” tweeted opposition Labour MP Stephen Kinnock.

McLoughlin had been tipped for the sack after June’s disastrous snap election in which May lost her majority in the House of Commons.

He also drew fire after a protester interrupted May’s speech to the party conference in October — an address that was also marred by a coughing fit and a collapsing set.

It was one of several low points in a turbulent year for the prime minister, who took over the helm of a divided government and country in July 2016 after the referendum on leaving the EU.

Britain is due to exit the bloc in March 2019, and although it reached agreement on the key separation issues in December, the toughest talks on the future relationship have yet to begin.

May was reportedly set to create a new “no-deal” cabinet post on Monday with responsibility to prepare for a possible breakdown in the talks.

– ‘Nothing has changed’ –
May’s room for manouevre is limited by the fragility of her minority government and the need to maintain the delicate Cabinet balance of eurosceptic and pro-European ministers as major Brexit decisions loom.

After starting the two-year withdrawal process in March last year, Britain struck a deal in December on the financial settlement with Brussels, as well as on expatriate rights and the Irish border.

Negotiations on a transition deal begin this month, while talks on a post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU are set to start in March.

Johnson, a leading Brexit supporter, kept his job despite challenging May’s strategy last year. Fellow eurosceptic Liam Fox, the international trade minister, was also expected to stay.

Finance minister Hammond and interior minister Amber Rudd, who campaigned to stay in the EU, continue as before.

Alistair Carmichael, an MP with the pro-European Liberal Democrats party, said “nothing has changed”, adding: “Theresa May wanted to reassert her authority but has come out of this looking weaker than ever.”

Former justice secretary David Lidington took over the policy coordination role previously held by Green, who quit after a pornography scandal, but did not inherit the title of May’s deputy.

The local government and health ministers both had their titles amended to include May’s new priorities of housing and social care.

Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire, who failed to secure a deal to restore the power-sharing government in Belfast after it collapsed a year ago, stepped down for health reasons.

He was replaced by Karen Bradley, who had been serving as culture secretary.