Sunak rewards loyalists and demotes Trus allies in ministerial reshuffles

The prime minister has already been criticized for the recovery Suella Braverman as home secretary when he scrapped his predecessor’s growth plan and delayed the long-awaited autumn budget in his first full day in the top job.

He also reinstated England’s fracking ban, which was controversially overturned by Ms Truss, and reviewed key spending commitments, including increasing state pensions in line with soaring inflation, as part of an overhaul of the government’s strategy.

The reshuffle continued with the announcement of several junior appointments on Wednesday night with Trust allies and former cabinet members Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Chris Philp is taking on new, less visible government roles.

There were also jobs for Sunak loyalists Alex Creed, Lucy Fraser and Helen Whatley, while former long-serving schools minister Nick Gibb returned to the Department for Education, joined by senior Tory and vocal Truss critic Robert Halfon.

Mr Sunak brushed off opposition demands for an immediate general election, pledging to restore public finances in a “fair and compassionate” way and correct the “mistakes” of former prime minister Ms Truss.

As he settles into his new role at the helm of the Tory party, he is said to be preparing a raft of radical education reforms.

The plans, reported by The Times, reiterated his leadership’s pledge to create a Russell Group of world-class technical colleges and introduce a “British Baccalaureate” that would prevent students from dropping maths and English at 16.

Elsewhere, the Prime Minister faced pressure to launch a formal investigation into Ms Braverman, who broke the ministerial code by sharing a confidential document with a Tory member from a private email.

Tensions flared on Wednesday night when former Tory leader Sir Jake Berry said she had committed “a number of breaches” of the rules.

The Home Secretary is now in line to learn lessons from MI5 about what information it can and cannot share, The Times reports.

Earlier, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delayed his Halloween Budget, which sets out measures to rein in Britain’s deficit, until November 17 to take account of the latest economic forecasts.

Downing Street has refused to honor key promises to triple freeze state pensions and increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 as Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt complete their review.

Only last week, Ms Truss insisted she was “fully committed” to the manifesto pension commitment after facing a backlash when Number 10 suggested it could be scrapped.

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Mr Sunaka declined to “comment ahead of any financial statements or budgets” as she declined to say whether April’s payments would increase in line with inflation by more than 10%.

“But what I can say is that he has demonstrated through his record as chancellor that he will do what is right and have compassion for the most vulnerable,” she said.

Tory MP Maria Caulfield, who previously said she would not vote to lift the triple lock if Downing Street indicated it could be dropped, pointed to Mr Sunak’s assurances he would deliver on the 2019 manifesto.

She told Sky News’ The Take with Sophy Ridge: “Our manifesto was to keep the triple lock and Rishi also made it clear today that he is the Prime Minister standing on that 2019 manifesto and he wants to deliver on it.”

She said there was “obviously” no “running commentary” on the upcoming budget, but her concern was that if the government “doesn’t confirm one way or the other” then “speculation grows” and “people start to worry”.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who survived Mr Sunak’s reshuffle in the same role, will be on the verge of resigning if the government reneges on its defense spending commitments.

Central to Ms Truss’s vision for growth were investment zones where planning restrictions are eased, a “Big Bang 2.0” program to deregulate the financial services sector, repeal environmental protections and admit more skilled migrants.

But a spokesman for Ms Truss said: “There are no plans to reform the proposal as we have previously discussed.

“That doesn’t mean there won’t be elements in the chancellor’s autumn statement who may or may not want to come forward.”

During Mr Sunak’s first combative Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir attacked the Prime Minister’s controversial decision to re-appoint Ms Braverman as Home Secretary just six days after she was forced to resign over the breach security.

The Labor leader said the fact he had to cut a “rough deal” with a prominent right-wing Tory figure to ensure he won the leadership this time was a sign of the weakness of his position.

He also mocked the new prime minister for his defeat by Ms Truss in the last leadership contest in the summer.

“The only time he stood in a competitive election, he was defeated by a former prime minister who was herself beaten by lettuce,” Sir Keir said.

“So why doesn’t he check it out, let working people have their say and call a general election?”

Mr Sunak replied that he had a mandate based on the Conservative Party manifesto, on which they won the 2019 election.