Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hit the ground running by reshuffling his Cabinet after many of Liz Truss's ministers resigned or were sacked. The most prominent appointment was Jeremy Hunt, who remains as Chancellor. The new prime minister inherits a daunting cocktail of economic and political turmoil. Even with the backing of his party, which isn't guaranteed, Sunak's challenge is colossal. Michael Gove returns to the Cabinet as levelling up secretary, Dominic Raab returns as deputy PM and justice secretary, and James Cleverly stays as foreign secretary. Sunak's former leadership rival Penny Mordaunt remains as leader of the House of Commons and Suella Braverman is reappointed as home secretary, a week after resigning from the same role, and Grant Shapps replaces Jacob Rees-Mogg as business secretary Meanwhile, Steve Barclay returns as health secretary replacing Therese Coffey who takes on the role of environment secretary. Hunt, who was Sunak's first appointment to his new Cabinet, tweeted: "Honored to serve our country, and Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is going to be tough. But protecting the vulnerable — and people's jobs, mortgages and bills — will be at the front of our minds as we work to restore stability, confidence and long-term growth." Labour leader Keir Starmer has congratulated Rishi Sunak, but hinted at the need for a general election. He tweeted: "Congratulations, Rishi Sunak, on becoming prime minister and making history as the first British Asian PM. "The Tories have crashed the economy, with low wages, high prices and a cost of living crisis." In a readout of a shadow Cabinet meeting, Starmer said Sunak "has only ever fought one leadership election battle his entire life and 'got thrashed' by Liz Truss. And no wonder he doesn't want to fight a general election." In a first Labour reaction to Sunak's Cabinet reshuffle, with Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said, "Boris Johnson might not be back but many of his Cabinet are". He said, "These are the old faces of Johnson's Cabinet" and blames many of them for helping "give us the economic issues we're grappling with" — including rising energy bills. The Tories have caused "immense damage", Ashworth told the BBC, before repeating the party's call for a general elefction. On the new PM, he said the blame for the country's financial woes isn't just on Truss but Sunak too — blaming him for "the highest tax burden in 70 years" when he was chancellor. "I don't believe Sunak has the answers to this crisis... he helped cause it," Ashworth added. Asked if Sunak is a more difficult challenge for Labour at a general election, Ashworth said he's more concerned about the fact the new PM avoided setting out his policies during the recent leadership contest. Raab has been appointed justice secretary and deputy prime minister by Sunak. He previously served as justice secretary under Johnson — but lost his role when Truss became prime minister. Prior to that, he served as foreign secretary and faced criticism and calls for his resignation over his handling of the Afghanistan crisis. Braverman has returned as home secretary — less than a week after she resigned from the role over a data breach, leaving with a brutal attack on Truss's government's direction on migration. In the job, she'll be tasked with things like the plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. Braverman is a barrister who was previously the attorney general and ran to be Tory leader herself in the contest this summer. Cleverly has been reappointed foreign secretary. He was originally appointed foreign secretary under Truss, taking over her former department. Cleverly was a foreign minister previously, for the Middle East and North Africa, and later for Europe and North America. Shapps has been appointed business secretary. The former transport secretary was fired by Truss because he supported her rival Sunak in the summer leadership contest. However, he made a miraculous comeback when he was brought back as home secretary as her government began to fall apart — with his appointment seen as an olive branch to the PM's opponents and an attempt to encourage unity. Wallace has been reappointed as defense secretary, a post he has held since July 2019, where he's been leading the response to the war in Ukraine. He's popular with Tory members — and was once considered a favorite to replace Johnson — but chose not to stand in either recent leadership contest. Mordaunt has been reappointed as leader of the House of Commons. Her profile rose significantly after she stood for the party leadership in both the recent contests - and many had called for her to be given a more prominent role under Sunak. Meanwhile, Mel Stride has been appointed work and pensions secretary. He is a close ally of Rishi Sunak and ran both his leadership campaigns. As chairman of the influential Commons Treasury Committee since 2019, he had been a strong critic of Truss's economic approach, as well as playing an important role in scrutinizing the government's financial support during the COVID pandemic. Simon Hart has been appointed chief whip. He had previously served as Welsh secretary under s Johnson between 2019 and 2022 and was also a junior minister at the Cabinet Office. He was among those to resign from the Cabinet in July as Johnson's premiership collapsed. Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed minister without portfolio and Conservative Party chairman by Sunak. A fast riser in the party, he gained support and public recognition in his role as vaccines minister during the pandemic. Gillian Keegan has been appointed education secretary. MP for Chichester since 2017, she served most recently as a minister in the Foreign Office. Steve Barclay has been appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, a role he briefly held under Johnson after Sajid Javid resigned in July. He lost his cabinet position in Truss's reshuffle in September. Kemi Badenoch has been reappointed international trade secretary by Sunak and will also be minister for women and equalities. She took on the international trade brief under Truss after surprising many by reaching the last four in the summer's leadership contest. Michelle Donelan has been reappointed culture secretary having served in the same role under Truss. She holds the record for the shortest-serving Cabinet minister in British history, after resigning as education secretary just two days into the role as part of the mass ministerial walkout, which led to then Prime Minister Johnson stepping down. Another member of the Truss government who is keeping his Cabinet role is Alister Jack who remains secretary of state for Scotland. The MP for Dumfries and Galloway took over the job in 2019 after his predecessor David Mundell was sacked by Johnson. Chris Heaton-Harris has been re-appointed as secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Downing Street confirms. Heaton-Harris has been the MP for Daventry since May 2010. Meanwhile, Lord True CBE has been re-appointed Lord Privy Seal, and leader of the House of Lords, Downing Street has announced. His roles make him responsible for the organization of government business in the House, and providing assistance to all Lords and offering advice on procedure. Sunak officially became UK prime minister earlier Tuesday after meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace In his first speech outside No 10, he said the UK was facing a "profound economic crisis" and that he would fix some of Truss's mistakes. In a short farewell speech earlier, Truss defended her legacy of trying to push through tax cuts and said leaders needed to be bold. — Agencies with inputs from BBC
