Gregory William Hands is a British politician serving as Minister for London and Minister of State for Trade Policy since November 2023. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as its Chairman from February to November 2023. Hands has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy under four prime ministers, holding the office on four occasions, and also served as Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth from 2021 to 2022.
Grant Shapps is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Defence since August 2023. Shapps has previously served in various cabinet posts, including Conservative Party Co-Chairman, Transport Secretary, Home Secretary, Business Secretary, and Energy Secretary under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Welwyn Hatfield since 2005.
Stephen Paul Barclay is a British politician who has been the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since November 2023, having previously served in various cabinet positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010.
Nadhim Zahawi is an Iraqi-born British politician who served in various ministerial positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak from 2018 to 2023. He most recently served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 25 October 2022 until he was dismissed by Sunak on 29 January 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010.
Rishi Sunak is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2022. The first British Asian prime minister, he previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2023, having previously served in the position from February to April 2023 before being temporarily replaced during her maternity leave. A member of the Conservative Party, Donelan also held three other cabinet positions from 2020 to 2023 under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chippenham in Wiltshire since 2015.
William James Quince is a British politician and former lawyer who served as Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care from September 2022 to November 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected at the 2015 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Colchester, defeating the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Sir Bob Russell. From 2011 to 2016, Quince was a borough councillor in Colchester. On 9 June 2023, Quince announced he would not run as an MP at the next general election.
Oliver James Dowden is a British politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A member of the Conservative Party, he is also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.
The first Johnson ministry began on 24 July 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II invited Boris Johnson to form a new administration, following the resignation of the predecessor Prime Minister Theresa May. May had resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June 2019; Johnson was elected as her successor on 23 July 2019. The Johnson ministry was formed from the 57th Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative minority government. It lost its working majority on 3 September 2019 when Tory MP Phillip Lee crossed the floor to the Liberal Democrats. An election was called for 12 December 2019, which led to the formation of a Conservative majority government, the second Johnson ministry.
The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election. The Conservative Party was returned to power with a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons. Initially the ministers were largely identical to those at the end of the first Johnson ministry, but changed significantly in cabinet reshuffles in February 2020 and September 2021.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2022.
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following a series of political controversies.
Boris Johnson carried out the third significant reshuffle of his majority government from 5 to 8 July 2022, having last done so in September 2021. This was a direct result of the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis in which more than a third of ministers and parliamentary private secretaries resigned from their positions.
In early July 2022, 62 of the United Kingdom's 179 government ministers, parliamentary private secretaries, trade envoys, and party vice-chairmen resigned from their positions in the second administration formed by Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, culminating in Johnson's resignation on 7 July. Johnson's premiership had been considered in danger for months after several scandals, but it was the Chris Pincher scandal that was identified to have spurred on the resignations. Considered the "last straw" for the Prime Minister, the scandal arose after it was revealed that Johnson had promoted his Deputy Chief Government Whip Chris Pincher, who was publicly facing multiple allegations of sexual assault, to the position despite knowing of the allegations beforehand.
The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis.
In September and October 2022, the Conservative Party government led by newly appointed prime minister Liz Truss faced a credibility crisis. It was caused by the September 2022 mini-budget and a disorganised vote in the House of Commons over a parliamentary vote to ban fracking, ultimately resulting in the loss of support of Conservative members of parliament (MPs).
Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 25 October 2022 when he accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss. He is the first British Indian and the first Hindu to hold the office. As prime minister, Sunak is also serving as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2023.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak carried out the second cabinet reshuffle of his premiership on 13 November 2023. Suella Braverman was replaced as Home Secretary by James Cleverly. Cleverly was replaced as Foreign Secretary by the former Prime Minister David Cameron, who was made a life peer as Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton.
