Johnson has restructured the British government

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday underwent a major reshuffle in the government, including the removal of former Foreign Secretary Dominic Rab.

Johnson aims to reorient the government towards improving living standards in Britain after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnson made the fight against regional inequality a priority for his government in 2019, but the pandemic has delayed the fulfillment of that promise.

“We know the public also wants us to meet their priorities, and that’s why the prime minister wants to ensure we have the right team,” Johnson’s spokesman told reporters.

Rab, who has been criticized for a holiday in Crete while the Afghan capital, Kabul, fell into the hands of the Taliban, has been promoted to justice minister, replacing Robert Bakland. However, to soften this unpleasant shift, Rāba retains the chair of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The current Minister of International Trade Lisa Trasa will sit in the chair of the Minister of Foreign Trade instead of Rabs.

In turn, Michael Cow, who was one of the most important members of the previous cabinet, will lose the position of the Minister of the Cabinet Chancellery and will continue to be responsible for housing construction, replacing Robert Jenrik.

The Minister of Education, Gavin Williamson, has also lost his job and has been widely criticized for running schools and organizing exams in a pandemic, as well as for mixing two black athletes. His dismissal was already awaited.

Jenrick, for his part, has been criticized for being linked to an illegally approved housing development project proposed by a Conservative donor and for travel during the quarantine regime.

Meanwhile, the dismissal of Bakland is considered to be the most surprising, because he has not been involved in any scandals, but has apparently lost his position only because it was necessary to vacate the place for Rab.

Rumors of a cabinet reshuffle in London have been circulating for weeks, and several sources in the Johnson Party have said they helped gain the party’s support for the prime minister’s plan to raise taxes to tackle the health care crisis.

Critics also accuse Johnson of choosing Wednesday to overshadow the opposition Labor party’s vote in parliament on the government’s decision to abolish additional support for low-income families.

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