UK Election 2017: Theresa May keeps top jobs unchanged

Prime Minister Theresa May has not made any changes to her cabinet after a shock election result saw the Conservative Party lose its majority.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a statement in Downing Street.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a statement in Downing Street. Source: EPA

British Prime Minister Theresa May is keeping finance minister Philip Hammond and other key members of her cabinet in their jobs after failing to win a parliamentary majority in the General Election.

Before Thursday's vote there had been widespread speculation in the British media that May would replace Hammond if she won a large majority.

As well as Hammond, foreign minister Boris Johnson, interior minister Amber Rudd, defence secretary Michael Fallon and Brexit minister David Davis will also remain in their posts.
"No further appointments will be made this evening," May's office said on Friday.

Hammond's reappointment makes it less likely that the government will significantly relax its grip on public spending after the left-wing Labour Party secured a better-than-expected election result with a plan to invest more in public services.

Hammond, 61, was named chancellor of the exchequer by May shortly after she took over as prime minister nearly a year ago, in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn on election result

British media have reported strains between their teams since then, and their relationship has been more distant than the one between former prime minister David Cameron and his finance minister George Osborne.

Hammond took the blame for a policy U-turn in March when he quickly dropped a plan to raise social security tax for self-employed workers after Conservative lawmakers protested that it broke promises made by the party before an election in 2015.

May did not repeat those promises ahead of this year's campaign.

May called the snap election in a bid to extend her majority and strengthen her hand in the EU divorce negotiations, but her gamble backfired spectacularly.

Britain stares down hung parliament

Her centre-right party finished first but lost its majority in parliament, meaning it had to form a new government with the help of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

Speaking on the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, May said her government would provide certainty and lead successful Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

"We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular," she said.

"We will fulfil the promise of Brexit together and over the next five years build a country in which no one, and no community, is left behind."

The announcement came just moments after May travelled to Buckingham Palace, where she asked the Queen for permission to form a government.

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3 min read
Published 10 June 2017 6:42am
Updated 10 June 2017 1:59pm
Source: AAP


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