Who is Mel Stride, the new Commons leader who has replaced Andrea Leadsom?
Theresa May has been forced to carry out a small Cabinet reshuffle after Andrea Leadsom resigned as the leader of the Commons
THERESA May has appointed Mel Stride as the Leader of the House of Commons.
The move came after Andrea Leadsom dramatically quit on the eve of the EU Parliament elections.
Who is Mel Stride?
Stride, 57, has been the Conservative MP for Central Devon since 2010.
May was forced to make a Cabinet reshuffle after Leadsom quit as Commons leader on Wednesday night over May’s Brexit plan.
Stride is a former Tory whip and became a financial secretary to the Treasury in June 2017.
His position in the Treasury has been replace by Jesse Norman.
Michael Ellis, previously the arts minister, has been appointed as a Transport minister.
Backbencher Rebecca Pow has been made a junior minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Stride was born in Ealing, west London in 1961.
He attended Portsmouth Grammar School before studying at St Edmond Hall, Oxford where he became the president of the Oxford Union.
Stride was selected as a prospective Tory candidate for Central Devon in June 2006 and he was the first A-lister to be selected under David Cameron’s Conservative A-List.
He became an MP in the 2010 general election with over 15,000.
Stride became Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in May 2015, under George Osborne and then made Paymaster General in June 2017, reporting to Philip Hammond.
He opposed Brexit before the 2016 referendum.
Stride came under fire over his comments on the Loan Charge and was accused of “disgracefully” obstructing a House of Lords inquiry and “dishonestly” misleading MPs over tax reforms charges.
He has defended himself robustly saying the Loan Charge had brought in £1billion of unpaid taxes and the government has continued to support him.
Stride made himself known to Tories recently as the parliamentary campaign manager for Michael Gove’s expected leadership bid.
Why did Andrea Leadsom resign from the Cabinet?
Leadsom resigned from Theresa May’s Cabinet over the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan - a day before the country's European Parliament elections.
She said it was with a "heavy heart" that she could no longer support the government's approach after May's latest gambit to pass her withdrawal agreement deal backfired among both Tory and Labour MPs.
In her resignation letter she wrote: "I cannot fulfil my duty as Leader of the House tomorrow, to announce a Bill with new elements that I fundamentally oppose."
And she added, in a call for Mrs May to stand down: "I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this Government and our party."
She went on: "I do not believe that we will be a truly sovereign United Kingdom through the deal that is now proposed.
“I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result.
"I have always maintained that a second referendum would be dangerously divisive, and I do not support the Government willingly facilitating such a concession.
"It would also risk undermining our Union which is something I passionately want to see strengthened.
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"There has been such a breakdown of government processes that recent Brexit-related legislative proposals have not been properly scrutinised or approved by Cabinet members.
"The tolerance to those in Cabinet who have advocated policies contrary to the Government's position has led to a complete breakdown of collective responsibility.
"It is therefore with great regret and with a heavy heart that I resign from the Government."