Political Updates 15th January 2018

This week’s Political Updates, covers moves and changes at all levels of government. 

  Government Departments

Cabinet Office

Chloe Smith is now Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Cabinet Office (she was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Assistant Government Whip).

Oliver Dowden has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Cabinet Office (first ministerial position).

HM Treasury

John Glen is now Economic Secretary to the Treasury (he was previously Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism at the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport).

Robert Jenrick has been appointed Exchequer Secretary (first ministerial position).

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Andrew Griffiths has been appointed Minister of State for Small Business (he was previously a Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury).

Department for Education

Sam Gyimah, MP for East Surrey, is taking over from Jo Johnson as a joint Minister for Higher Education at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education (he was previously Minister of State for Prisons and Probation).

Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (first ministerial position).

Department for Health & Social Care

Caroline Dinenage has been appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (she was previously Minister for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance at the Department for Work and Pensions).

Stephen Barclay has been appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (he was previously Economic Secretary to the Treasury).

Ministry of Justice

Rory Stewart is now Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice (he was previously joint Minister of State for the Department for International Development and Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office).

Lucy Frazer has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (first ministerial position).

Ministry of Defence

Guto Bebb is now Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (he was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Wales Office and a Government Whip (Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury).

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

Heather Wheeler has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (she was previously Government Whip, Junior Lord of the Treasury).

Dominic Raab has replaced Alok Sharma as Minister of State for Housing (he was previously Minister of State for Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice).

Rishi Sunak has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (first ministerial position).

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

Margot James has been appointed Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries (she was previously Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).

Michael Ellis has been appointed Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism (he was previously Assistant Government Whip at the Treasury).

Department for International Trade

Graham Stuart has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (he was previously Assistant Government Whip at the Treasury).

Department for Work and Pensions

Kit Malthouse has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (first ministerial position).

Alok Sharma is now Minister of State for Employment (he was previously Minister for Housing).

Department for Transport

Jo Johnson is now Minister of State for Transport and Minister of State for London (he was previously Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation at the Department for Education).

Nusrat Ghani has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Assistant Government Whip (first ministerial position).

Department for International Development and Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Harriet Baldwin has taken over Rory Stewart’s role as Minister of State for Africa at the Foreign Office and Minister of State at the Department for International Development (she was previously Minister of State for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence).

Department for Exiting the European Union

Suella Fernandes has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (first ministerial position).

Office of the Secretary of State for Wales

Stuart Andrew has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary of State for Wales (he was previously Assistant Government Whip at the Treasury).

Northern Ireland Office

Shailesh Vara has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

House of Commons

Sinn Fein’s Barry McElduff, MP for West Tyrone, resigned on 15th January. McElduff announced his resignation as a result of the controversy surrounding the video he posted on Twitter on the anniversary of the Kingmills massacre.

House of Lords

Lord Clinton-Davis (Labour, Life Peer) retired on 10th January.

European Parliament

This week, the European Parliament is in plenary session in Strasbourg.