Downing Street Says » Ministerial Reshuffle

Asked if the Prime Minister had begun making Ministerial changes, the Prime Minister s Spokesman (PMS) said yes, the Prime Minister was in the process of conducting his junior Ministerial reshuffle.

Asked if there had been any indication from other Ministers that they wanted to leave Government, the PMS said that the Prime Minister was aware of Jane Kennedy s intention to stand down. He had spoken to her this morning and she explained her reasons for standing down. The Prime Minister said that he regretted the fact that she had decided to stand down but he did not ask for any pledge of loyalty from her or any other Minister.

Asked when the Prime Minister found out about Jane Kennedy s decision to stand down, the PMS said that he was not going to get into the specifics, but it had been clear for a few days that it was a possibility and the Prime Minister decided to speak to her this morning, at which point she made her intentions clear. It was not unusual for the Prime Minister, Whips and other to be aware of peoples intentions.

Asked if the Prime Minister called Jane Kennedy to seek clarification of her position, the PMS said that the Prime Minister always liked to speak to as many of his junior Ministers as possible at the time of a reshuffle and, almost without exception the Prime Minister would call every one of them.

Asked if the Prime Minister called Ministers who weren t moving as part of a reshuffle, the PMS said that the Prime Minister would usually do that.

Put that Glenys Kinnock couldn t be a member of the Government whilst she was still an MEP, the PMS said that there were lots of precedents for peerages to take a short period of time to be formalised after the initial announcement.

Asked if Glenys Kinnock would for example attend Cabinet this week if the subject of Europe came up, the PMS said that Glenys Kinnock would not attend Cabinet even when Europe did come up. Her position was completely different to Caroline Flint s.

Asked repeatedly if Sir Alan Sugar would be taking the whip in the House of Lords and whether it was compatible with his other public roles, the PMS said that Sir Alan Sugar was not a member of the Government, he was an advisor to the Government. Therefore, whether or not he took the whip was not a matter for the Government but for him and the Labour Party. Any relationship that Sir Alan Sugar had with broadcasters was a matter for him and the relevant broadcaster.

Asked why Sir Alan Sugar was given a peerage when he was not a member of Government, the PMS said it was our intention to nominate Sir Alan Sugar for a peerage, which was subject to approval by the appointments process in the House of Lords. Sir Alan Sugar was somebody who had real experience of setting up and running businesses. He had exceptional entrepreneurial flare and had done a huge amount to promote entrepreneurialism in this country.

Asked how Sir Alan Sugar s relationship had changed due to his new position as Government advisor, the PMS said that Sir Alan Sugar would be putting his businesses at arm s length as appropriate in order to ensure that there were no potential conflicts of interest, in the way other people who had close advisory relationships with the Government would do.

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» Monday, June 8, 2009

Ministerial Reshuffle

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