Following a series of Parliament errors, Suella Braverman was sacked from her position of home secretary this morning. James Cleverly has been named as her replacement.
Today Prime Minister Rishi Sunak began a cabinet reshuffle as he sacked former home secretary Suella Braverman this morning. The decision came after Ms Braverman wrote a newspaper article criticising the Metropolitan Police’s handling of a controversial pro-Palestinian march for Armistice Day.
However, the article was the final straw. Over the past few weeks Ms Braverman has been in deep waters after she referred to homelessness as a ‘lifestyle choice’.
After losing her position in Parliament Ms Braverman released a statement which said: ‘It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary. I will have more to say in due course.’
Against this backdrop, James Cleverly has been appointed to take over as home secretary and said in a post on social media: ‘It is an honour to be appointed as home secretary. The goal is clear. My job is to keep people in this country safe.’
Mr Cleverly’s appointment has come just 48 hours before a crunch supreme court decision on Wednesday which, is set to announce whether the government’s Rwanda deportation plan can happen. If this plan is given the greenlight, the government will be able to enact a policy which will see some asylum seekers sent to Rwanda to stop them arriving in the UK through illegal or dangerous methods, such as on small boats that cross the English channel.
More than 45,000 people used this route to travel to the UK in 2022 – the highest figure since records began.
However, Mr Cleverly may have signed himself up for failure by taking on his new role. Although the government is working to ensure people aren’t dangerously travelling to seek refuge in our country, they don’t seem to be doing enough to support refugees who are already in England.
In October, the government announced that they were working to move people out of temporary accommodation and into more secure affordable housing. However, authorities have failed to provide enough affordable properties for people currently without a home.
Research that surfaced in July 2023 found 47,500 asylum seekers were in hotel accommodation at the end of March 2023, which is up from the 9,500 in hotels in October 2020. If the government decides to press on with removing people from temporary accommodation, it could mean thousands of refugees are left with no option but to sleep on the streets.
As well as James Cleverly being appointed into a new cabinet role, a shocking new announcement, which was also made this morning, was that former prime minister, David Cameron, will be taking over as the new foreign secretary.
Although it is highly unusual for a former Prime Minister to return to Parliament in this way, Mr Cameron was handed a ‘barony’ so he can serve in government.
As the day has progressed, more people from Mr Sunak’s party have left their role in Parliament. The two most recent examples are Theresa Coffey, who has resigned from being the environment minister, and Rachel Maclean who was sacked from being the housing minister.
The conservatives are now looking for their 16th housing minister since 2010 as the UK remains in the midst of a devastating housing crisis.
Taking to Twitter, Ms Maclean said: ‘I’ve been asked to step down from my role as housing minister. Disappointed and was looking forward to introducing the Renters Reform Bill to committee tomorrow and later the Leasehold and Freehold Bill. It has been a privilege to hold the position and I wish my successor well.’
I’ve been asked to step down from my role as Housing Minister. Disappointed and was looking forward to introducing the Renters Reform Bill to Committee tomorrow and later the Leasehold and Freehold Bill. It has been a privilege to hold the position and I wish my successor well.
— Rachel Maclean (@redditchrachel) November 13, 2023
Since Mr Sunak began moving his cabinet around, rumours began circulating that the Conservative Party will not be able to properly unite in time for the next general election, damaging their chances of being re-elected.
Despite this, the party said Mr Sunak was carrying out a wider reshuffle that ‘strengthens his team in government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future.’
Image: Aditya Joshi
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