Theresa May will promote women into some of the most senior positions in her Government on Wednesday after becoming the second female Prime Minister in Britain’s history.
Mrs May is this evening expected to announce significant promotionsfor Amber Rudd, the Energy Secretary, and Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, as she unveils her new team.
Mrs Rudd is tipped for one of the four big offices of state, with friends of Mrs May suggesting that she could be made Home Secretary, while Mrs Greening is poised to become the new Health Secretary.
Mrs May’s reshuffle is likely to propel several female Conservative MPs onto the front bench for the first time and could mean that close to half of the Cabinet are women.
A spokesman for Mrs May said: “It was Theresa who set up the campaign to elect more female MP’s to Parliament – and she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions.”
Mrs May’s appointment makes her only the second female prime minister since Baroness Thatcher.
However, her decision to promote female MPs into senior positions differentiates her from Lady Thatcher.
Lady Thatcher only appointed one woman to any of her Cabinets in the 11 years that she was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990.
Friends of Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, said that he hoped to play a “significant role” in Mrs May’s Cabinet and feels that he “has a lot to give”.
Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary who ended Mr Johnson’s leadership hopes by deciding to stand himself, has repeatedly clashed with Mrs May in the past and there are questions over whether he will retain his place in Cabinet.
On Tuesday night it emerged that civil servants have already been charged with finding a building to host her “ministry for Brexit”, which will be led by a prominent leave campaigner.
Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister who stepped aside from the leadership race clearing the path for Mrs May to become Prime Minister, is tipped to replace Mrs Rudd as the new Energy Secretary. |
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