Theresa May is to boost the number of women in Cabinet in No10 revolution
Incoming Prime Minister to hand women number of top jobs
THERESA May is to boost the number and standing of her female Cabinet ministers as she ushers in a Girl Power revolution to No10.
The Home Secretary takes over from David Cameron as Britain’s only second woman Prime Minister at tea time tomorrow.
Within hours, she plans to announce the names of her new Chancellor, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary.
Mrs May will also unveil who will take up the brand new post of Brexit Secretary, to fulfil her key leadership campaign promise to set up a new ministry to lead Britain’s EU exit.
Her aides revealed that a key part of her thinking is a determination to boost the role of women running the country.
That lead to speculation that Britain may also get its first female Chancellor by tomorrow night.
Senior ministers in the frame to run the nation’s economy are Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, Development Secretary Justine Greening and leadership race drop out Andrea Leadsom.
Other rising star female ministers also tipped for a full Cabinet promotion are Business Minister Anna Soubry, Employment Minister Priti Patel and Home Office minister Karen Bradley.
It was also last night being rumoured that deputy chief whip Anne Milton will be promoted to be the Tories’ first female Chief Whip, the government’s top disciplinarian who is entitled to a full Cabinet post.
Mrs May’s spokeswoman said last night: “It was Theresa that set up the campaign to elect more female MP’s to parliament — and she has always believed that there should be more women in prominent government positions”.
A raft of Mrs May’s most senior backroom advisers are also women.
Her former Home Office special adviser Fiona Hill is expected to become Mrs May’s chief of staff.
And Iain Duncan Smith’s former special adviser Lizzie Loudon was last night tipped to be her Press Secretary.
At the moment, just seven out of 22 full Cabinet ministers are women.
A further three also have the right to attend Cabinet as senior ministers who don’t have their own departments.
Mrs May’s woman vow stands in stark contrast to the first female Premier, Margaret Thatcher.
The original Iron Lady only ever appointed one woman to her Cabinet in 11 years as PM.
Lady Young served as her Lords Leader, but only for two years, leaving nine years without any woman in her top team at all.
A raft of senior Cabinet ministers are in the dark about what job Mrs May will offer them as she confided in only her two closest advisers over her plans, Mrs Hall and her policy whizz Nick Timothy.
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One nervous Cabinet minister told The Sun: “The truth is nobody has any idea what Theresa is going to do tomorrow.
“That’s the way she always plays it, and it keeps everyone on their toes.”
Prominent Leave campaigner and Commons Leader Chris Grayling is tipped to be Brexit Secretary.
It was also rumoured that instead of a big promotion, Leave campaign chief Michael Gove will stay in his current job as Justice Secretary.
Another leadership race drop out, Boris Johnson was “expecting little” from Mrs May, friends said, after a long-running rivalry between them.
But other MPs said he would be given a prominent Cabinet berth as he remains a party darling despite being knifed by Mr Gove.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond may be demoted, as one senior source said there is still bad blood between him and Mrs May over a bitter internal government row about visas.
One Minister said: “She doesn’t owe Hammond anything. And to be fair, he has fired shots across her bows quite a bit”.
David Cameron will take his final PMQs at noon tomorrow, before heading out of Downing Street for the last time to Buckingham Palace to formally resign between 4pm and 5pm.
Minutes after his audience with the Queen, Mrs May will follow him in to see the monarch who will ask her to form the next government.
Mrs May will then address the nation from No10’s steps.
Mrs May bid farewell to her loyal Home Office staff with an auditorium address to them, and met Conservative Party staff on her first visit to CCHQ as new party leader.
But dutiful to the last, as late as lunchtime Mrs May was still signing off MI5 and police spying warrants as Home Secretary.
Anti-EU Tory backbench MP John Baron demanded prominent Remain-backing Cabinet ministers step down, insisting “Generation Gloom must retire to the sidelines so that we best capitalise on the many opportunities that will result from us leaving the EU”.
Nigel Farage dismissed Labour’s call for an early general election.
But the retiring Ukip boss heaped pressure on Mrs May to start the two year countdown for Britain to leave the EU as soon as possible by triggering the Article 50 treaty clause.
Ukip will be “watching like a hawk to ensure that there is no backsliding”, Mr Farage added.