McVey in, Greening out – our readers give their take on Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle

‘Shambolic’, ‘disarray’, and ‘night of the blunt stiletto’: not quite the headlines Theresa May would have been hoping for after reshuffling her cabinet.

Justine Greening says leaving government was 'right thing to do' as reshuffle continues - Politics live Read more

With Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark convincing the prime minister to keep them in their posts, and Justine Greening resigning after being moved from her education brief, we hear our readers’ views on the main changes to Theresa May’s cabinet.



Esther McVey becomes work and pensions secretary



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Britain’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey arrives at 10 Downing street in central London for the first cabinet meeting of the new year. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Easily the least popular move among our readers was the return of Esther McVey to the Department of Work and Pensions, after Justine Greening turned down the role.



“It’s difficult to imagine a less appropriate promotion considering her record,” said one reader, referring to McVey’s time at the department in David Cameron’s government.



Dan Carden, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, said McVey’s appointment “will put fear in the hearts of the vulnerable and disabled. The last time McVey was at DWP she was rightly ejected from parliament by the voters of Wirral West, not least for her callous attitude to claimants.”

“The appointment of McVeigh and her undoubted vigour with which she will set a punitive agenda for making the poor and sick even more despairing and hopeless was a real dirty trick,” said Andrew Barbour under Andrew Sparrow’s live blog.



Justine Greening quits the government



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Former education secretary Justine Greening leaves 10 Downing Street, London, following her resignation after being offered the Work and Pensions Department. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA

Readers were largely sympathetic to Greening, who quit the cabinet after turning down the role of work and pensions secretary. Tweeting after her departure, Greening said “social mobility matters to me and our country more than my ministerial career,” which may be a reference to her lack of enthusiasm for an expansion of grammar schools - putting her at odds with the prime minister.



Jeremy Hunt remains health secretary, with an extended brief

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Britain’s Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt leaves 10 Downing street wearing an NHS badge. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Hunt could now end up serving a longer stint as health secretary than Aneurin Bevan, after he rejected a move to business and instead took on more responsibility for social care.

May’s failure to move Hunt was seen as a sign of weakness by our readers, who argued May’s attempts to reassert her authority via a reshuffle had backfired.

“If it wasn’t for Brexit, May could sack Boris Johnson for his poor performance as foreign secretary, [given] his lack of seriousness and ability to understand the needs of high office,” argued one reader.



“The fact that Jeremy Hunt, of all people, could talk her out of ‘demoting’ him shows that she is unusually weak. She is also having to balance the remainer/leaver quota [in cabinet].”

