Boris Johnson’s reshuffle is a distraction from the Tories’ war on the working class

Boris Johnson & Rishi Sunak at cabinet


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On 15 September, prime minister Boris Johnson began reshuffling his cabinet of senior ministers. This dramatic turn of events coincided with the parliamentary debate on the government’s proposed £20 per week cut to universal credit. Some have speculated that the cabinet reshuffle was a technique to distract the public from the government’s drastic cuts.

All change
In spite of the significant changes to the prime minister’s cabinet, people took to Twitter to point out that replacing one Tory with another is fairly inconsequential, as there is no such thing as a good Tory. Rosie Holt shared:

Another Twitter user simply said:

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Possibly referring to Raab’s comments suggesting that the UK should trade with nations known to violate the European Convention on Human Rights in the name of growth, David Osland said:

Tweeting a potted history of Truss’ corruption, rapper Lowkey shared:

Drawing attention to Dorries’ stoking of Britain’s culture wars, Ash Sarkar shared:

Distraction technique

The dramatic turn of events coincided with a parliamentary debate on the government’s plan to cut an uplift to universal credit by £20 per week. Arguing that the prime minister’s cabinet reshuffle is simply a distraction from the Tories’ cut to universal credit, Rachel Wearmouth shared:

National secretary of The People’s Assembly Laura Pidcock added:

UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter has written a letter urging the UK government to reconsider the proposed cut. He argues that it may be in breach of international human rights law and is likely to push an estimated half a million households into poverty:

Sharing a video of her speech at the House of Commons debate – in which she recounted correspondence from constituents on the potentially devastating impact of the cut on their lives – Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana tweeted:

Highlighting that the £20 per week cut to universal credit will disproportionately impact poor and disabled people, Labour MP for Hemsworth John Trickett tweeted:

Setting out the impact of the planned cut coupled with the rise in national insurance tax on disadvantaged young people, Howard Beckett shared:

Summarising the government’s war on the working-class, senior economist Sarah Arnold shared:

Changes…now the campaign

On 15 September, Liz Truss replaced Dominic Raab as foreign secretary. The prime minister appointed Raab justice secretary and deputy prime minister. Former education secretary Gavin Williamson, former housing, communities and local government secretary Robert Jenrick, and former justice secretary Robert Buckland lost their roles as cabinet ministers, having all faced scandals over the course of the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, chancellor Rishi Sunak and home secretary Priti Patel remain in place. Other ministers, including newly appointed housing secretary Michael Gove and culture secretary Nadine Dorries, have moved positions.

Campaigners from organisations including the People’s Assembly, Black Lives Matter, the National Education Union and Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament are coming together. They’re holding a national demonstration against the government’s “corruption, cronyism and exploitation” during the Tory party conference in Manchester on 3rd October.

Featured image via Youtube – ITV News 

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