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Good morning,
Theresa May was up early in her new home this morning, sitting down to her first prime ministerial red box and finalising details of the rest of her cabinet. Her appointments last night suggest she is in the mood for surprises.
At midday today I'll be joined by Lucy Fisher in Downing Street to discuss the reshuffle live on the Red Box Facebook page. What does the future hold for Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom? Will Chris Grayling and Justine Greening get their promised promotions? Who will be the new faces around the cabinet table, and who will get the chop?
Let us know how you think the new government looks so far and any questions you might have. Just reply to this email or tweet @timesredbox.
It was an emotional moment in Downing Street when David Cameron gave his farewell speech, with his family looking on and Florence stealing the show. His final PMQs reminded those of us who watch it regularly just how good he is, and how jokes might be thinner on the ground in future.
And Jeremy Corbyn clings on, obviously. |
Matt Chorley
Red Box Editor
@MattChorley
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| In today’s briefing |
- Cabinet welcomes in the Brexiteers
- Boris Johnson's undiplomatic language
- Fox and Davis to clear up Brexit mess
- Philip Hammond's battle with himself
- Cameron bows out with rainy speech
- Owen Smith launches leadership bid
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| The new PM |
| Welcome to May's Brexit Britain |
At teatime Theresa May walked into Buckingham Palace to be invited by the Queen to form a government. And what a government she set about forming. This is what we know so far:
- Chancellor: Philip Hammond (George Osborne was sacked)
- Foreign secretary: Boris Johnson
- Home secretary: Amber Rudd
- Defence secretary: Michael Fallon
- Brexit secretary: David Davis
- International trade secretary: Liam Fox
What to make of it all? Johnson, whom she mocked just days ago over his three nearly new water cannon, is handed one of the Great Offices of State in an astonishing comeback for someone whose career was (again) prematurely declared over. Davis and Fox, veteran rightwingers and near-pariahs under Cameron's premiership, handed brand new plum roles. All three will be charged with making Brexit a success.
Rudd replaces May as home secretary, the only female appointment despite a promise of the "march of May's women". If only Fallon had worn kitten heels to walk up Downing Street to be told he will stay as defence secretary.
Last night she spoke to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Francois Hollande, the French president, and Enda Kenny, the Irish Taoiseach. In each call she emphasised her commitment to “delivering the will of the British people to leave the European Union” but stressed that she would “need some time to prepare for these negotiations”. Merkel has invited her to visit Berlin soon.
Yesterday I wrote about the conflict between cautious Theresa and bold Theresa. Bold Theresa might have made Rudd chancellor and promoted a new generation of Brexiteers.
Instead, she has created a cabinet - at least so far - that feels (and looks) very old school. The average age of Cameron's last cabinet was 50. Of the positions confirmed so far, May's averages over 58. May praised praised Cameron's legacy in her speech outside No10, including introducing gay marriage - it was opposed by Fallon, Fox, Davis and Hammond.
After vowing to stand up for those outside the "privileged few", the top three jobs went to an Old Etonian, a multimillionaire and the aristocracy co-ordinator from Four Weddings and A Funeral.
Now, it is clearly very smart to bind the Brexiteers in to delivering making the bloody thing happen. Johnson fell out with Michael Gove for appearing to go soft on Brexit, and has been rewarded with a plum job.
Whether other countries welcome his unique approach to winning international friends and influencing people remains to be seen.
It's notable too that Davis and Fox were not key players in Vote Leave, a clever attempt to divide and rule over the Outers. But they are potentially explosive characters. Their presence in the government works only until they quit. Until they do, May will struggle to stop them throwing their weight around, speaking out publicly and gossiping privately.
Aides say that the early announcements were designed to demonstrate "unity and a commitment to Brexit", even though she did not use the word in her speech.
In fact, we are already seeing two types of PM May: The one who stood in Downing Street with her husband Philip by her side, vowing to "make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us".
And the one who has surrounded herself, so far, with a generation of Tory big beasts who could hardly claim to have been at the forefront of the modernisation agenda.
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| Undiplomatic language |
It took about 30 seconds after Johnson was named foreign secretary for people to start digging out his rather colourful way of referring to international allies and foes: Calling Turkey's President Erdogan a "wankerer", referring to "flag-waving piccaninnies”, linking Papua New Guinea to “cannibalism and chief-killing” and likening Hillary Clinton to a "sadistic nurse in a mental hospital".
Asked if he agreed he had a number of people to apologise to, including President Obama, Johnson told ITV News: "The United States of America will be at the front of the queue."
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| Beat a retreat |
Two reasons why the appointment of David Davis and Liam Fox to lead Brexit are notable:
Davis has argued in favour of “taking a little time before triggering Article 50”, delaying it until early 2017.
Fox suggested during his brief leadership campaign that Britain might not leave the EU until 2019.
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| Chill winds |
Philip Hammond is now in a battle with himself. As chancellor he will have to prove himself wrong, after warning that Brexit would have a "chilling effect" on the economy.
After all of the excitement of recent days, the looming recess and the absence of an opposition, the moment when we all come back to earth with a bump will be when the Office for Budget Responsibility sets out just how big the Brexit black hole in the nation's finances really is.
One of his first acts this morning was to confirm that there would be no emergency budget, so it will have to wait until the autumn statement. He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "The markets do need signals of reassurance, they need to know we
will do whatever is necessary to keep the economy on track."
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Bye George, you were a sensible fellow
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| Ed Conway |
| It is too early to say whether George Osborne’s time as chancellor was a failure. But even now it is clear that it was not a roaring success. His Achilles’ heel was a propensity to overpromise. The truth is that when you look at his policies rather than his promises, Mr Osborne was a rather sensible finance minister. |
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| Today’s cartoon from Peter Brookes |
| A family affair |
David Cameron's final speech outside No10 was typical of the man: warm-hearted, tinged with sadness, thankful and patriotic with a heavy emphasis on public service.
As the clock ticked down to his departure, the blue skies darkened and large rain drops began to fall as he spoke. His wife Samantha, and children Nancy, 12, Elwen, 10, and Florence, 5, held hands and watched as he said goodbye.
"They sometimes kick the red boxes full of work. Florence, you once climbed into one before a foreign trip and said take me with you,” he said turning to his family huddled on the steps. Florence, hugged first by her older sister then by her mother, looked cheerfully back at her father.
His voice cracked as he said: "It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve our country as prime minister." He added: "As we leave for the last time, my only wish is continued success for this great country that I love so very much."
And with that the family walked to waiting cars, and were driven through the wrought iron gates for the final time.
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| A final PMQs |
Cameron's final PMQs showed just how, as Peter Lilley remarked, he became a master of the despatch box.
The jokes were very good, but there was also an attention to detail that stretched from Syria to Northern Ireland, Shaker Amer to Serena Williams, unemployment, the big society, cataract operations and Black Country manufacturers.
When he bowed out declaring "I was the future once", MPs rose to their feet for a standing ovation. Well, the Tory stood and clapped, the Labour side sat and clapped, the SNP didn't clap at all. And Andy Burnham appeared to do all three.
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| Gongs of praise |
Arise Sir Craig Oliver for services to spin. A string of Cameron's closest aides are in line for gongs and honours, including his former director of communications.
There are also said to be peerages for his trusted chief of staff, Ed Llewellyn, Camilla Cavendish, head of his policy unit, Chris Lockwood, another former adviser, Gabby Bertin, director of external relations, and Laura Trott, head of strategic communications.
Critics say it risks turning the House of Lords into a "figure of fun". Which is shocking. Lots of people think it already is.
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| Back to the future for the farewell he wanted |
| Patrick Kidd |
| In his beginning was his end. David Cameron left the party leadership the way he had come in, reflecting on the fading promise of youth. “He was the future once,” a fresh-faced, lip-licking new Tory leader had told Tony Blair on his first appearance at prime minister’s questions in 2005. Ten and a bit years on, rueful but surprisingly jolly, Mr Cameron ended his final Wednesday lunchtime tussle by telling MPs: “I was the future once.” Read the full sketch |
| Corbyn's Labour |
| Disunited unity |
With all the sense of political judgement and timing we've come to expect from a slick election-winning machine, the Labour Party continued its slow process of booking a one-way ticket to a Dignitas clinic, with almost no-one watching.
Owen Smith announced his plan to run for the leadership on Twitter at 8.49pm, just as Theresa May was forming her new government. He claims he will be a “radical and credible” leader, as he pits himself against both Jeremy Corbyn and Angela Eagle, the other challenger.
One MP summed up the mess: “Everyone agrees there should be a single unity candidate against Jeremy. It’s just that nobody can agree on which of the two it should be, or even how you decide the matter.”
And just to show what a bold and dynamic leader Corbyn is: nine junior whips tried to resign yesterday so they could back the leadership challenge, and he just refused to accept it.
Oh, and the creation of at least two new government departments means that there are even more seats at the shadow cabinet to fill. Paul Flynn will be exhausted.
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NEC’s decision on Labour leadership rules was flawed and wrong
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| Michal Foster, Labour donor |
| I, and every Labour Party member, have a contract of membership with the party which contains within it the rules of the party. I must abide by them and so must the party. If I do not comply with the rules of the party it is entitled to say that I have broken my membership contract. But, equally if it misapplies the rules, I am entitled to say that it has broken my contract of membership. I consider it has done this. |
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HINKLEY COSTS The cost to consumers of building the Hinkley Point nuclear power station could reach nearly £30 billion because of falling wholesale electricity prices, the spending watchdog has warned. Read the story
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DRIVING TESTS Learner drivers will have to reverse into a parking bay and operate the heated rear windscreen under the biggest shake-up of the driving test for 20 years. Read the story
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OLDER MOTHERS Women over 40 are now more likely than teenagers to have a baby. It is the first time that this has been the case since the end of the Second World War. Read the story
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| TMS |
| From the diary |
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Taking flight
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Cam Force One, the new prime ministerial plane, made its debut flight last week and already it is under new ownership. Perhaps it should be renamed as May Fly (although that sounds a bit pessimistic) or ThereasyJet.
It’s ironic that Tony Blair, that great lover of free flights, was blocked from having his own jet by the parsimonious Gordon Brown, whereas David Cameron squeezed £10 million out of the Treasury for something he used just once. While Britain was late to getting a plane for its PM, it was the first nation to get one for its head of state. The King’s Flight was established in 1936 for Edward VIII, who got about as much use out of his plane as Cameron did.
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Read more from the TMS diary
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| Today |
- Labour Party publishes the official timetable for its leadership election, which was agreed at a meeting of the party's National Executive Committee on July 13.
- Theresa May welcomes nominees of this year's national Police Bravery Awards to Downing Street in one of the first public engagements of her premiership.
- Middle-income families with children are now more similar to low-income families, in terms of income sources and home ownership rates, than they were 20 years ago, and are increasingly unlike high-income families, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
- 8.15am: Liz Truss, environment secretary, speaks at private policy round table hosted by the Reform think tank on the result of the Brexit vote.
- 8.15am: Institute for Government think tank hosts event on the implications on the UK's four nations of the vote to leave the European Union.
- 1.15pm: Members of the home affairs committee take evidence on antisemitism from John Mann, chairman of the APPG against antisemitism.
- 11.30am: Jonathan Hill, the UK's outgoing European Commissioner for Financial Services, speaks to the media a day before he officially steps down.
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| House of Commons |
- 9.30am: Energy and climate change questions
- Business statement; leader of the house
- Debate on the report of the Iraq inquiry
- Adjournment debate on section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
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| House of Lords |
- 11.00am: Oral questions on; creative subjects in the school curriculum and stress levels, apprenticeships in the rural economy, supreme court judgement of R Nicklinson v Ministry of Justice, and the increase in hate crimes.
- Debate on the causes of poverty in the UK.
- Short debate on EU citizens remaining in the UK.
- Debate on resourcing and staffing courts
- Terrorism Act 2000 - amendment No 2, Order 2016.
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