“I have never had any conversations of any kind with the Prime Minister or anyone acting on his behalf about a reshuffle. I am totally laid back about a reshuffle and am waiting to see whether or not it affects me,” he said.
It is rare for ministers to comment publicly on reshuffle speculation, although the subject has dominated many private conversations in Westminster over the past few months.
Mr Clarke, 72, is the most experienced member of the Government and served in the Cabinets of Baroness Thatcher
and Sir John Major. His pro-European stance and relatively liberal views towards criminal justice have brought him into conflict with Mr Cameron and other senior Tories.
The Prime Minister is thought to be considering replacing Mr Clarke with either Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, or Nick Herbert, a junior justice minister. Mr Clarke may be offered another ministerial position.
Other Cabinet ministers expected to be moved in the forthcoming reshuffle include Baroness Warsi, the Conservative chairman, Cheryl Gillan, the Welsh Secretary, Sir George Young, the leader of the House, and Patrick McLoughlin, the chief whip.
However, the key Cabinet jobs at the Treasury, Home Office and Foreign Office are not expected to change. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, is also not expected to be moved, despite speculation during the restructuring of the NHS that he would lose his position.
Some Conservative MPs are also pushing for Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, to be promoted, although this is not likely to happen imminently as reforms to school exams and the curriculum are expected to be key Coalition policies in the autumn.
The future of Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, is also not clear. He was previously tipped for a senior ministerial office, but his office’s handling of the News Corporation bid for BSkyB has undermined his chances.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar