New U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is beginning to round out his cabinet and it appears that he's prioritizing ideological coherence.
Westminster is undergoing quite a bit of change — 17 of former Prime Minister Theresa May's senior ministers, including former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (who was runner-up for Conservative Party leadership) and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, were either fired or resigned.
Some of the departing ministers are actually Brexit supporters. But they also supported Hunt, who like Johnson was prepared to leave the European Union with or without a deal in October, during the leadership campaign. BBC's chief political correspondent Vicki Young reported that the decisions signal that Johnson isn't too keen on building bridges within the party, despite his earlier promises to unify the Tories.
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Key positions will be filled Sajid Javid, Priti Patel, and Dominic Raab who will step into the roles of chancellor of the exchequer, home secretary, and foreign secretary, respectively. All three seem likely to stir a bit of controversy for varying reasons.
Javid reportedly takes inspiration from former Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was known for an intense adherence to free market economic principles. Meanwhile, Patel reportedly supported the death penalty as recently as 2011 and previously resigned as international development secretary after holding unauthorized meetings with Israeli officials in 2017. As for Raab, he came under fire for previously stating that he didn't consider himself a feminist.
Patel and Raab are loyal Brexit supporters, while Javid, despite some EU skepticism, wound up backing the Remain vote in 2016. Read more at The Guardian and BBC.
