Cabinet Flashcards
(6 cards)
Tony Blair
Upon entering Downing Street in 1997, Tony Blair appointed Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer, despite their well-documented rivalry and the alleged “Granita Pact,” in which Blair had promised Brown significant autonomy over economic policy.
Blair recognised that excluding Brown — a dominant figure on Labour’s left and intellectual architect of the party’s economic credibility — would fracture the delicate unity of New Labour just as it achieved electoral breakthrough.
Bringing Brown into the Cabinet allowed Blair to consolidate power while balancing competing party factions, projecting an image of cohesion and policy stability to the public and markets alike.
David Cameron
In forming his first Cabinet, David Cameron appointed Iain Duncan Smith as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, despite IDS being a prominent figure on the party’s right and a vocal critic of previous modernising efforts.
This appointment reflected Cameron’s strategic imperative to bind the Conservative Party’s ideological wings together in the early days of a fragile coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.
By empowering Duncan Smith to lead major welfare reforms, Cameron co-opted a potential internal critic while demonstrating a commitment to compassionate conservatism and fiscal responsibility.
Theresa May
Following the political upheaval of the Brexit referendum, Theresa May appointed Boris Johnson — the face of the Leave campaign and her recent leadership rival — as Foreign Secretary.
Though ideologically divergent and temperamentally mismatched, May’s decision reflected a calculated effort to appease the Eurosceptic right and avoid deepening divisions within an already fractured Conservative Party.
Involving Johnson not only placated influential Brexiteers but also lent symbolic weight to May’s rhetorical commitment that “Brexit means Brexit,” despite her personal support for Remain.
Liz Truss
Facing market turmoil and a collapsing premiership after the disastrous “mini-budget,” Liz Truss appointed Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor — a senior moderate and one of her leadership rivals.
Though ideologically distant from Truss’s libertarian economic agenda, Hunt’s appointment was a desperate but calculated concession to the party’s centrist wing and to international markets demanding fiscal credibility.
His presence stabilised financial markets temporarily and signalled that Truss was relinquishing control over economic policy to preserve her political survival — albeit only for a few days longer.
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak reappointed Suella Braverman as Home Secretary just days after she had resigned from the same role under Liz Truss, raising eyebrows across the political spectrum.
Braverman, a leading figure on the party’s hard-right, had backed Sunak late in the leadership race, and her inclusion was widely seen as a quid pro quo to shore up support among the Conservative right and Brexit ultras.
Despite clear ideological tensions with Sunak’s more technocratic style, her appointment served to prevent immediate internal rebellion and project unity within a deeply factionalised party.
Keir Starmer
Upon entering Downing Street, Keir Starmer appointed a Cabinet dominated by centrist, technocratic figures such as Rachel Reeves as Chancellor and Yvette Cooper as Home Secretary, aiming to project fiscal discipline, administrative competence, and political stability after years of Conservative turbulence.
While he offered key roles to figures like Angela Rayner to maintain balance and honour her mandate as Deputy Leader, Starmer notably excluded most of the Corbynite left, signalling a final break with the party’s recent past and a consolidation of his centrist vision.
His Cabinet strategy reflects a deliberate attempt to reassure markets, restore public trust in institutions, and recast Labour as a party of government, with appointments based more on perceived competence than ideological representation.
