The first Johnson ministry began on 24 July 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II invited Boris Johnson to form a new government, following the resignation of the predecessor Prime Minister Theresa May. May had resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June 2019; Johnson was elected as her successor on 23 July 2019. The Johnson ministry was formed from the 57th Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative minority government. It lost its working majority on 3 September 2019 when Tory MP Phillip Lee crossed the floor to the Liberal Democrats. An election was called for 12 December 2019, which led to the formation of a Conservative majority government, the second Johnson ministry.
History Theresa May announced on 24 May 2019 that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and therefore prime minister, after failing three times to secure passage through the House of Commons of her Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill, which would have seen the United Kingdom leave the European Union. Her announcement also followed the Conservative Party's very poor showing in the 2019 European Parliament elections in the UK. Her resignation as Conservative leader took effect on 7 June 2019.
The former London Mayor and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was elected to succeed May on 23 July 2019. He was appointed prime minister on the following day by Queen Elizabeth II. Johnson inherited a minority government, supported by a confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
Johnson appointed his cabinet on 24 July 2019, describing it as a "Cabinet for modern Britain", with The Guardian branding it "an ethnically diverse but ideologically homogeneous statement of intent". While forming his government, Johnson dismissed 11 senior ministers and accepted the resignation of six others, a purge described by Johnson's ally Nigel Evans as "not so much a reshuffle as a summer's day massacre". The mass dismissal was the most extensive Cabinet reorganisation without a change in ruling party in postwar British political history, exceeding the seven Cabinet ministers dismissed in the "Night of the Long Knives" of 1962, and was dubbed the "Night of the Blond Knives" by The Sun.
Among other appointments, Johnson made Dominic Raab the First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary, and appointed Sajid Javid and Priti Patel as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary respectively. Johnson increased the number of ministers attending the Cabinet to 33, four more than had attended the May Cabinet. One quarter of those appointed were women, proportionally less than the May and Cameron ministries. The Cabinet set a new record for ethnic minority representation, with four secretaries of state and two additional ministers coming from minority backgrounds; 17% of the Cabinet were from BAME backgrounds, compared to 14% of the UK population. Nearly two-thirds of those appointed went to fee-paying schools, and almost half had attended Oxford or Cambridge universities. Johnson also created a new ministerial title to be held by himself, Minister for the Union, fulfilling a campaign pledge he had made in the leadership election.
Loss of majority and ministerial resignations
Johnson lost his working majority on 3 September 2019, when Phillip Lee crossed the floor to join the Liberal Democrats. This was reduced further later the same day when 21 Conservative MPs had the whip removed after voting against the Government in order to enable Parliament to take control of the order paper and to debate a back bench bill designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
On 5 September 2019, Johnson's brother and Orpington MP Jo Johnson announced his intention to resign both his ministerial position and parliamentary seat, stating "In recent weeks I've been torn between family loyalty and the national interest — it's an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister." On 7 September 2019, Amber Rudd announced she was resigning as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Minister for Women and Equalities, and leaving the Conservative Party.
Amid an impasse in parliament over Brexit, an election was called for 12 December 2019 by virtue of the passage of the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 on 31 October 2019. The Conservatives won a majority, leading to the formation of the second Johnson ministry on 16 December 2019.
Cabinet
July–December 2019
+ First Johnson cabinet"LIST OF MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES". Cabinet Office. October 2019.PortfolioPortraitMinisterTermCabinet ministersPrime MinisterFirst Lord of the TreasuryMinister for the Civil ServiceMinister for the UnionCommonwealth Chair-in-OfficeBoris Johnson2019–2022Chancellor of the ExchequerSecond Lord of the TreasurySajid Javid2019–2020First Secretary of StateSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsDominic Raab2019–2021Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentPriti Patel2019–2022Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterMichael Gove2019–2021Secretary of State for JusticeLord High Chancellor of Great BritainRobert Buckland2019–2021Secretary of State for Exiting the European UnionSteve Barclay2018–2020Secretary of State for DefenceBen Wallace2019–2023Secretary of State for Health and Social CareMatt Hancock2018–2021Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial StrategyAndrea Leadsom2019–2020Secretary of State for International TradePresident of the Board of Trade Liz Truss2019–2021Minister for Women and EqualitiesSept 2019–2022 Amber Rudd2018 Sept 2019Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Thérèse CoffeySept 2019–Sept 2022Secretary of State for EducationGavin Williamson2019–2021Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTheresa Villiers2019–2020Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentRobert Jenrick2019–2021Secretary of State for TransportGrant Shapps2019–2022Secretary of State for Northern IrelandJulian Smith2019–2020Secretary of State for ScotlandAlister Jack2019–2024Secretary of State for WalesAlun Cairns2016 – November 2019Leader of the House of LordsLord Keeper of the Privy SealNatalie EvansBaroness Evans of Bowes Park2016–2022Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and SportNicky Morgan2019–2020Secretary of State for International DevelopmentAlok Sharma2019–2020Minister without PortfolioParty Chairman James Cleverly2019–2020Also attending cabinet meetingsChief Secretary to the TreasuryRishi Sunak2019–2020Leader of the House of CommonsLord President of the CouncilJacob Rees-Mogg2019–2022Chief Whip of the House of CommonsParliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryMark Spencer2019–2022Attorney GeneralGeoffrey Cox2018–2020Minister of State for EnergyKwasi Kwarteng2019–2021Minister for the Cabinet OfficePaymaster GeneralOliver Dowden2019–2020Minister of State for the Northern PowerhouseJake Berry2019–2020Minister of State for HousingEsther McVey2019–2020Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial StrategyandUniversitiesJo JohnsonJuly–Sept 2019Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsandInternational DevelopmentZac GoldsmithSept–Dec 2019Minister of State for SecurityDeputy for EU Exit and No Deal PreparationBrandon Lewis2019–2020
Changes Jo Johnson quit the government on 5 September 2019 and said that he would resign as an MP. His spot in the cabinet was filled by Zac Goldsmith, who was made Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and at the Department for International Development on 10 September 2019. Amber Rudd resigned from the cabinet and from the Conservative Party on 7 September 2019. She was replaced as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by Thérèse Coffey on 8 September 2019, and as Minister for Women and Equalities by Liz Truss on 10 September 2019. Alun Cairns resigned from his post of Welsh Secretary on 6 November 2019.
List of ministers
Minister in the House of Commons Minister in the House of Lords
Prime Minister and Cabinet Office Cabinet Office Post Minister Term Boris Johnson July 2019December 2019 Michael Gove July 2019December 2019 Natalie Evans July 2016December 2019 Minister without Portfolio James Cleverly July 2019December 2019 Jacob Rees-Mogg July 2019December 2019 Oliver Dowden July 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Implementation) Simon Hart July 2019December 2019 Minister of State (Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth) Jake Berry July 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for the Constitution) Chloe Smith January 2018December 2019 Interim Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for the Constitution) Kevin Foster April 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Defence People and Veterans) Johnny Mercer July 2019December 2019
Departments of State
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Andrea Leadsom July 2019December 2019 Minister of State for Business, Energy & Clean growth Kwasi Kwarteng July 2019December 2019 Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation Jo Johnson July 2019September 2019 Chris Skidmore September 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility Kelly Tolhurst July 2018December 2019 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Business & Industry Nadhim Zahawi July 2019December 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Climate Change) Ian Duncan, Baron Duncan of Springbank July 2019December 2019 Defence Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace July 2019December 2019 Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster July 2017December 2019 Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie, Baroness Goldie July 2019December 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Defence Procurement)Anne-Marie TrevelyanJuly 2019December 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Defence People and Veterans)Johnny MercerJuly 2019December 2019 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nicky Morgan July 2019December 2019Minister of State for Sport, Media and Creative Industries Nigel Adams July 2019December 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Arts. Heritage and Tourism Rebecca Pow May 2019September 2019 Helen Whately September 2019December 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital and BroadbandMatt WarmanJuly 2019December 2019Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Civil Society & DCMS) Diana Barran, Baroness Barran July 2019December 2019 Education Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson July 2019December 2019 Minister of State for School StandardsNick Gibb May 2015December 2019 Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation Jo Johnson July 2019September 2019 Chris Skidmore September 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Children and Families) Kemi Badenoch July 2019December 2019 Michelle Donelan (Maternity Cover) September 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the School System) Theodore Agnew, Baron Agnew of Oulton July 2019December 2019 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Theresa Villiers July 2019December 2019 Minister of State for Environment and Rural Opportunity Thérèse Coffey July 2019September 2019 Rebecca Pow September 2019December 2019 Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food George Eustice July 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Zac Goldsmith July 2019September 2019 Minister of State Zac Goldsmith September 2019December 2019 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity) John Gardiner, Baron Gardiner of Kimble July 2019December 2019