With an overhauled Cabinet, the UK’s new Prime Minister took charge of the reigns this week. As it turns out, Liz Truss would be the last UK head of government to be sworn in by the Queen Elizabeth II.
Liz Truss has broken convention by appointing no white men to the highest offices in the land, referred to as the “great offices of state”. The top ranks as well as the entire cabinet are quite diverse.
Among those appointed, are Suella Braverman, the new Home Secretary and Alok Sharma, the new COP26 President — both of Indian heritage. Whilst Braverman traces her roots to Goa, Sharma was born in Agra.
Although Truss has removed Rishi Sunak and his loyalists, she has made sure that she maintains the diversity quotient in her cabinet, with Kwasi Kwarteng being given charge of Chancellery and James Cleverly becoming the new Foreign Secretary. Meanwhile, Thérèse Coffey will be Deputy PM and Health Secretary.
Kemi Badenoch, a former contender for the PM’s post, who reached the last four in the race in which Truss eventually came out on top, was given a Cabinet post, that of International Trade Secretary.
Nadhim Zahawi, who was the interim Chancellor of the Exchequer after Sunak resigned, has been appointed as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as well as the Equalities Minister. He will operate out of the Cabinet Office.
Among the MPs of South Asian heritage being named in the cabinet, is Ranil Jayawardena, the new Environment Secretary, who traces his roots to Sri Lanka.
“My priorities are clear and simple”
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) September 7, 2022
Home Secretary @SuellaBraverman’s first day in office ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/TNig5k0dw2
“I am absolutely honoured to be asked by the Prime Minister Liz Truss to serve as the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom,” Said Braverman after the announcement.
“My priorities are clear and simple — firstly we need to fix the crisis on the [British] Channel and secondly, we need to make our streets safer by holding the police to greater account and supporting victims,” she highlighted.
Braverman, a barrister, served as the Attorney General prior to this appointment. Her parental heritage encompasses India [Goa], Mauritius, and Kenya, with her parents having moved to the UK in the 1960s.
Delighted to continue working with Prime Minister @trussliz to deliver on the #GlasgowClimatePact https://t.co/s2lMB4PaPo
— Alok Sharma (@AlokSharma_RDG) September 6, 2022
Alok Sharma, meanwhile has kept his portfolio of being the full-time President for COP 26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. He was reinstated under the Truss regime. He will work from the Cabinet Office.
Sharma was quick to take to Twitter to say that he was “delighted to continue working with Prime Minister Liz Truss, to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact”.