Tottering Theresa May names new UK Cabinet as critics circle

LONDON – The Associated Press

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed ministers to her shaky government, as some Conservative colleagues rallied to support her - and others said her days were numbered after last week’s disastrous election.

May is seeking a deal with a Northern Irish party to prop up the Conservative minority administration, and lawmakers said the rebuff from voters meant the government will have to abandon planned policies and re-think its strategy for European Union exit talks.

A stream of senior lawmakers entered May’s 10 Downing St. office in the afternoon on June 11, to learn what roles they had been given in government.

May’s weakened position in the party ruled out big changes. All the most senior ministers - including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon and Home Secretary Amber Rudd - kept their jobs and there were few changes in the Cabinet lineup.

Damian Green, a lawmaker in the pro-EU wing of the party, was promoted to first secretary of state - effectively deputy prime minister.

As rumors swirled about plots to oust May, Johnson denied he was planning a leadership challenge. He tweeted that an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper headlined “Boris set to launch bid to be PM as May clings on” was “tripe.”

In a WhatsApp message to Conservative lawmakers, Johnson said: “Folks we need to calm down and get behind the prime minister.”

In June 8 election the Conservatives won 318 of the 650 House of Commons seats, 12 fewer than the party had before the snap election, and eight short of the 326 needed for an outright majority. Labour surpassed expectations by winning 262.

Former Treasury chief George Osborne - who was fired by May last year - called May a “dead woman walking,” and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was ready to contest another election at any time.

Many senior Conservatives say May should stay, for now, to provide stability. But few believe she can hang on for more than a few months.

“I think her position is, in the long term, untenable,” Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry told Sky News.
But Graham Brady, who chairs the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative lawmakers, said a “self-indulgent” party leadership campaign would only cause more uncertainty.

He acknowledged that the government would now be unable to get many of the measures promised in its election platform through Parliament.

May called the election called in a bid to strengthen her mandate ahead of EU exit talks. Instead, she has left Britain’s position in disarray, days before the divorce negotiations are due to start on June 19.