Prime Minister Rishi Sunak created a new government department focused on energy security and used a limited reshuffle of his UK cabinet to reset his premiership after a rocky first 100 days in power.
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak created a new government department focused on energy security and used a limited reshuffle of his UK cabinet to reset his premiership after a rocky first 100 days in power.
Sunak named Grant Shapps as energy security secretary, Greg Hands as Conservative Party chairman and Kemi Badenoch as business and trade secretary. He broke up the sprawling department responsible for business, energy and industrial strategy and named Michelle Donelan as science, innovation and technology secretary, heading a brand-new ministry.
After three months largely focused on cleaning up the mess left by his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, Sunak is now trying to reshape the government to focus on his priorities. He regularly talks of the need to focus on technology and embrace the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley, while Russia’s war in Ukraine has also highlighted the need for Britain to become more self-sufficient in its energy production.
Sunak’s office said the new science department is designed to “drive the innovation that will deliver improved public services, create new and better-paid jobs and grow the economy.” Lucy Frazer took Donelan’s old post and becomes the new culture, media and sport secretary.
The appointments came more than a week after Sunak fired the previous party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, over a tax scandal. The new chair will need to oversee the Conservatives’ upcoming local election campaign in May, but the party trails Labour by about 20 points in most polls and faces the possibility of a wipeout. That has made the post of chair difficult to fill as the holder is likely to be forced to take the blame. The chair is also responsible for securing donations, with the party facing a £25 million ($30 million) funding shortfall.
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Pressure is also building on the premier over Dominic Raab, a key ally who serves as deputy prime minister and justice secretary, amid a formal investigation into a raft of bullying allegations.
Shapps’s new department has been given the task of with securing the UK’s long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and halving inflation, Sunak’s office said in a statement.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was formed in 2016 after then-premier Theresa May chose to merge the Department of Energy and Climate Change with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Talk of a break-up has circulated in recent years, especially as the energy crisis pushed up prices and created fresh impetus for increased energy security.
The crisis caused the department to become far more heavily weighted toward energy, with some ministers — including Sunak — becoming frustrated with its lack of focus on innovative business policies. Sunak proposed a dedicated energy department in last year’s leadership campaign, coupled with a new “Energy Security Committee,” chaired by him, tasked with keeping critical power stations online, protecting the UK’s gas reserves and reforming the energy market.
–With assistance from Ellen Milligan and Alex Wickham.
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