Rolling coverage of Theresa May’s first full day as prime minister, her new cabinet and government appointments, and reaction to Boris Johnson’s appointment as foreign secretary
New cabinet - Appointments so far
7.20pm BST
The new prime minister has been filling posts in her first cabinet and, significantly, has placed Brexit-backing MPs in positions that will be central to the EU withdrawal negotiations. Boris Johnson is the new foreign secretary, David Davis is the Brexit minister and Liam Fox’s career has seen a remarkable revival with his appointment as international trade secretary.
May has not been reluctant to remove big beasts from their jobs. Michael Gove was sacked, as were George Osborne, Oliver Letwin and Nicky Morgan, among others.
6.38pm BST
We are not expecting any further ministerial appointments this evening but it is worth reading Joan Smith’s article on Theresa May’s cabinet selections so far.
While she has promoted women, Smith writes, May is a Tory first and a feminist second.
5.57pm BST
We have a final ministerial appointment of the day. Ben Gummer, formerly a junior health minister (and the son of Thatcher and Major era cabinet member John Gummer) is now minister for the Cabinet Office, Downing Street has announced.
5.53pm BST
Theresa May’s official spokeswoman said today’s appointments revealed a “bold” cabinet, and “what we’re seeing is the commitment of the prime minister to putting social reform at the heart of her government.”
Barack Obama has already called May to congratulate her, the spokeswoman also revealed. The pair spoke for 15 minutes, during which they discussed security cooperation, and she “underlined the point that the decision to leave the European Union means that”.
5.39pm BST
With Labour’s leadership so far silent on the ministerial changes, the SNP’s Westminster Leader, Angus Robertson, has called it “one of the most right-wing cabinets in the modern era”. He said in a statement:
From Boris Johnson as our foreign secretary – a man who will now be representing us on the world stage – to David Davis as Brexit minister and Liam Fox for trade, it will be Brexiteers who are taking forward UK foreign policy.
We also have Jeremy Hunt being re-appointed as health secretary, despite the ongoing disputes with junior doctors, and Priti Patel as minister for international sevelopment, despite previously calling for the department to be abolished.
5.32pm BST
Green campaigners were divided over the likely impact of the abolition of the department of energy and climate change, with some saying that folding its responsibilities into the new department for business, energy and industrial strategy would downgrade the importance of climate change and take ministerial attention away from the issue for the next parliament.
Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said he was “shocked” by the move.
5.27pm BST
This is Peter Walker, taking over from Andrew for a bit. My colleague Rowena Mason has made this tally of the gender split of the cabinet as it appears so far. She also calculates that five of 23 cabinet ministers were privately educated, fewer than in David Cameron’s cabinet, but still a proportion three times above the 7% figure for the country as a whole.
Final tally 8 women out of 23 in cabinet including the PM (34%) - slightly higher than Cameron's 7/ 22 (but not really a march of the women)
5.21pm BST
That’s all from me. My colleague Peter Walker is taking over now.
5.08pm BST
David Lidington has become leader of the Commons and lord president of the council, Number 10 has announced. He was Europe minister.
5.02pm BST
David Gauke, who was financial secretary to the Treasury, has been made chief secretary to the Treasury, Sky reports.
David Gauke MP appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury
4.52pm BST
David Mundell is staying as Scottish secretary, Number 10 has confirmed.
4.47pm BST
Mark Harper, who until today was chief whip, has announced he is leaving the government.
I have decided to leave the Government & return to the backbenches. I’ll
continue to loyally support HMG & @theresa_may as our new PM
4.46pm BST
Robert Peston’s “eight things we’ve learned about Theresa May in the last 48 hours” take on the reshuffle is very good.
4.43pm BST
The French president, François Hollande, has repeated his call for Theresa May to begin Britain’s exit from the European Union as fast as possible.
“The sooner Mrs May actions Britain’s exit from the EU, the better the future relationship between the EU and the UK will be,” he said in his traditional Bastille Day TV appearance.
4.34pm BST
Here is more on what Andrea Leadsom, the new environment secretary, thinks about farming subsidies. This is what she said in a Guardian debate on the EU referendum in March.
Net we send £9bn a year to the EU, gross it’s £19bn; the remainder we get back in subsidies are things we have to beg for, things we have to co-finance, pet projects of the EU so farmers - yes, they are supplicants asking for roughly 50% back of the money that they paid over in the first place.
On voting to leave the EU, the UK government will absolutely continue in the short term to provide those subsidies whilst we think about what makes sense. And some of the things that would make sense would be environmental trading credits, because at the moment you have farmers who have to do a bit of environmental planning and a bit of farming just to meet the EU requirements.
Keen-eyed readers will note this *absolutely* does not guarantee farming subsidies will continue in the long term
4.26pm BST
Andrea Leadsom has been handed a hospital pass with the role of environment secretary, and not just because it is viewed as one of the less prestigious jobs in the cabinet. Farmers today get £2.4-3bn a year from the EU in subsidies – the amount varies on exchange rates – through the common agricultural policy (CAP).
Whatever British Agricultural Policy (BAP) comes next – and the National Farmers Union is already canvassing views on which this should look like –Leadsom will have the thankless task of lobbying the Treasury to replace those subsidies. They’re essential to prop up farmers, as the CAP payments made up 55% of an average farmers’ income of around £20,000 in 2014.
4.18pm BST
From today Priti Patel is in charge of the Department for International Development. But three years ago she suggested it should be abolished. She told the Sunday Telegraph:
A long-term strategic assessment is required, including the consideration to replace DfID with a Department for International Trade and Development in order to enable the UK to focus on enhancing trade with the developing world and seek out new investment opportunities in the global race.
It is possible to bring more prosperity to the developing world and enable greater wealth transfers to be made from the UK by fostering greater trade and private sector investment opportunities.
4.12pm BST
Damian Green inherits not just the UK’s biggest spending department but one of its most politically volatile. Planned social security cuts triggered two government crises in recent months: defeat for the chancellor George Osborne last autumn over tax credit reductions, and the abandonment in March of plans to cut £1.2bn a year cuts from disability benefits, following the resignation of the former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
Any political breathing space gained from those U-turns will be short-lived. The brief reign of Stephen Crabb - who hinted at a more humane, conciliatory, consultative approach after the harshness of the IDS years - brought a promise from the Treasury that there would be no fresh welfare cuts in this parliament.
4.05pm BST
Here is the up-to-date list of today’s cabinet appointments. It includes vacancies, and sackings/resignations. You may need to refresh the page to get it updated.
We still don’t know who the leader of the Commons will be. Or the chief secretary to the Treasury. And it is not clear whether David Mundell remains as Scottish secretary, although that seems likely given the fact that Mundell is the only Conservative MP with a Scottish seat.
3.58pm BST
Alan Cairns will remain as Welsh secretary, Number 10 has announced.
3.56pm BST
Karen Bradley has been appointed culture secretary, Number 10 has announced. She was a Home Office minister.
3.51pm BST
Priti Patel has become international development secretary, Number 10 has announced. She was employment minister.
3.50pm BST
Greg Clark has been appointed business secretary. He was communities secretary.
But he is not just business secretary, as the Number 10 announcement makes clear.
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Greg Clark as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
3.36pm BST
James Brokenshire has been appointed Northern Ireland secretary, Number 10 has announced. He was immigration minister.
Like Damian Green, Brokenshire is someone who worked with Theresa May at the Home Office and who is considered a loyal ally.
3.33pm BST
Jeremy Hunt will have to show “exceptional political leadership” as he confronts some very big problems in the NHS now that he is staying at the Department of Health, the King’s Fund says.
Given the service’s deepening financial crisis, the NHS’s need for more money – beyond the extra £8bn already promised by 2020 – is, inevitably, top of that list, according to the influential thinktank.
3.29pm BST
Priti Patel, the employment minister, is in Number 10.
3.18pm BST
Number 10 has confirmed that Sajid Javid is the new communities secretary.
3.15pm BST
Sajid Javid has been made the new communities secretary, the BBC reports. That means there is a vacancy at business.
3.10pm BST
Here is some Twitter comment on Andrea Leadsom’s appointment.
From ITV’s Robert Peston
.@andrealeadsom from potential leader to farms and environment in 3 days. Proper job but...That said, tricky Brexit unscrambling to do
Leadsom getting Defra continues theme of "you broke it, you own it" (CAP payments).
Leadsom to DEFRA is fascinating. Brexiteer, she has to work out what the post-EU subsidies for farming and quotas for fish world looks like
3.03pm BST
Andrea Leadsom, who was an energy minister, has been made environment secretary, the BBC reports.
So..Andrea Leadsom gets a job in Theresa May's new cabinet as Environment Secretary
2.54pm BST
Damian Green has been made work and pensions secretary, No 10 has announced.
2.47pm BST
It seems Nicky Morgan didn’t expect to be sacked as education secretary, having told colleagues as recently as yesterday that she was staying on. But now she has gone, possibly because of nominating Michael Gove for the Conservative party leadership.
Her successor Justine Greening inherits a bigger department after the addition of higher education and skills moving from BIS to the DfE. Some argue schools and universities make uneasy bedfellows, and will inevitably lead to budget battles. But the advent of the £9,000 tuition fee has changed the funding dynamic, and it is universities who now fear being raided by their less-well-off primary and secondary colleagues.
2.43pm BST
No 10 has confirmed that Chris Grayling has been appointed transport secretary.
2.42pm BST
Andrea Leadsom, Theresa May’s rival for the Tory leadership until she withdrew on Monday, has just gone into Downing Street.
2.41pm BST
Chris Grayling has just left No 10. He was leader of the Commons when he went in. Now he is transport secretary, according to Sky.
2.39pm BST
Here is a read-out of Boris Johnson’s first phone call with his US counterpart, John Kerry. Kerry advised Johnson to adopt a “sensible” approach to Brexit.
Read out of first call between Boris Johnson and John Kerry - something for Foggy Bottomologists to pour over pic.twitter.com/H0Cb2ceDs0
2.31pm BST
Sky’s Beth Rigby thinks Damian Green could be going to culture.
I go to the loo, and @damiangreenmp goes in. Longstanding ally of May -perhaps DCMS? He is a former journalist
2.28pm BST
There has been a mixed reaction to the departure of Theresa Villiers from the post of Northern Ireland secretary in Theresa May’s first cabinet.
The first minister, Arlene Foster, paid tribute to Villiers, saying she enjoyed working with her and wished her the best for the future.
2.25pm BST
Damian Green, a former Home Office minister and a strong support of Theresa May during the leadership contest, has arrived at No 10.
2.23pm BST
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has described as “deeply disappointing” comments made by the new chancellor, Philip Hammond, saying that he cannot envisage a scenario where Scotland has a different relationship with the EU from the rest of the UK.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme earlier on Thursday, Hammond insisted that “the best future for Scotland is inside the United Kingdom economy”, and that Scotland should be part of a UK-wide position of negotiating “from outside the European Union”. He also dismissed the idea that Scotland would have a separate relationship with the European single market. Sturgeon said:
I have been absolutely clear on this issue – the people of Scotland voted decisively to stay part of the European Union and their wishes must be respected.
That includes respect from the UK government, which is why Philip Hammond’s comments are deeply disappointing – I very much hope the new prime minister will be more open to constructive discussion.
1.59pm BST
Sir Christopher Meyer, a former ambassador to Germany and the US, has just told Sky News that Boris Johnson could be a very effective foreign secretary.
I think this is actually a bold appointment, it’s an imaginative appointment, it’s a risky appointment, but it could well prove to be just what our foreign policy needs at this historic moment in our country’s history. There needs to be now a major retooling of our foreign policy, which flows from the referendum result and the fact that Brexit means Brexit. We need now to send a shot of adrenaline through our diplomatic system so we raise our game all round the world. And I think Boris Johnson is capable of doing precisely that.
1.53pm BST
This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Stephen Crabb’s departure.
Crabb gone - not clear if he was offered something more junior and refused or was sacked
1.51pm BST
Here is our updated list of appointments, vacancies, and sackings and resignations. You may have to refresh the page to get the updates.
1.49pm BST
Stephen Crabb has resigned as work and pensions secretary, saying it is “in the best interests of my family”.
This is clearly a reference to a Times story at the weekend revealing that Crabb had sent sexual text messages to a woman who was not his wife.
Stephen Crabb resigns from government, saying it is 'in the best interests of my family' https://t.co/H44lXciIUS pic.twitter.com/XYHpEMyRZR
1.32pm BST
Here is John Whittingdale leaving the Department for Culture after being sacked. This is from Carrie Symonds, his special adviser.
Amazing to be clapped out at @DCMS. Has been a total privilege to work for @JWhittingdale. pic.twitter.com/RdUDDnusXi
1.30pm BST
This is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.
Bit of a chumocracy still? Baroness Evans close to key May aide, Nick Timothy. He replaced her at new schools network in 2014.
1.29pm BST
No 10 has confirmed that the role of the Department for Education is going to be beefed up. Staff from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills working on higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and skills will move to education, where Justine Greening is in charge.
Downing Street says the education department will take on responsibility for:
Reforming the higher education sector to boost competition and continue to improve the quality of education that students receive; and delivering more apprenticeships through a fundamental change in the UK’s approach to skills in the workplace.
1.22pm BST
Here is Boris Johnson addressing staff in the Foreign Office on his first day as foreign secretary.
A map of all the countries #BorisJohnson (new British Foreign Sec) has offended.https://t.co/sEHqtI9aye pic.twitter.com/RcXG5afYee
1.15pm BST
These are from the Spectator’s James Forsyth.
One of the themes running through No 10 statement & reshuffle, is May trying to rid Tories of party of the rich tag https://t.co/KwVUdRlFiD
Those Cameroons who, wrongly, saw Theresa May as the continuity candidate getting increasingly irritated now. Not happy about No10 clear out
1.10pm BST
This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.
Half the Vote Leave Cabinet 6 havent made it back into Cabinet: Villiers, Whittingdale, Gove pic.twitter.com/bKZTWCfkGZ
1.04pm BST
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has used Twitter to laugh off earlier reports that he was going to be moved.
'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated...' Thrilled to be back in the best job in Government.
Health Secretary admits to fiddling mortality rate figures https://t.co/FaCH0xprQ5
12.58pm BST
This appointment has had journalists resorting to Wikipedia.
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Baroness Evans of Bowes Park as Leader of the House of Lords.
12.51pm BST
Jeremy Hunt remains as health secretary, Number 10 confirms.
12.50pm BST
I’ve just updated our list of cabinet appointments, vacancies and sackings.
Patrick McLoughlin’s move from transport to Conservative chairman has got the first “promoted/moved sideways” categorisation. (All the other appointments have been clear promotions.)
12.44pm BST
Theresa Villiers has resigned as Northern Ireland secretary and left the government. She was offered an alternative job but did not want it, she says in a Facebook post.
Theresa Villiers leaves government - her Facebook post below pic.twitter.com/EZhHOQwJsX
12.38pm BST
The Times’ Tim Montgomerie thinks the appointment of Gavin Williamson as chief whip is inspired.
Inspired appointment - Williamson loved enough by colleagues for them to obey him too https://t.co/A3r8oGbNUW
As Cameron's trusted PPS, @GWilliamsonMP will be well placed to whip the many, unhappy Cameroons on the backbenchers https://t.co/ThQX838TYN
12.35pm BST
The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope says Theresa May is reorganising Whitehall.
Department of Business,
Innovation and Skills, Department for Energy and Climate Change and Department for Transport are set to be closed.
They could be replaced with two new departments - one for
Infrastructure and one for Industry, according to sources. #CabinetReshuffle
12.33pm BST
Patrick McLoughlin, who was transport secretary, has become Conservative chief whip. This is from Number 10:
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
12.23pm BST
Patrick McLoughlin has just come out of No 10. He was transport secretary, but he would not tell the reporters what his new job is.
12.18pm BST
Gavin Williamson has become chief whip.
Cameron's former PPS, Gavin Williamson becomes the chief whip, big step up for former number 10 fixer
12.14pm BST
Now it looks as if Jeremy Hunt is staying at health.
Sounds like Hunt is staying at health, expect to be confirmed in next few minutes - but hey, its a reshuffle, not official til its official
12.13pm BST
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, has put out this statement about the appointment of Liz Truss as justice secretary.
The problems to be found in our overcrowded prisons can be overcome with imaginative thinking and bold action to stop throwing so many people into these failing institutions, where they are swept away into deeper currents of crime by the boredom, drug abuse and violence behind bars.
It is to be hoped that Elizabeth Truss is the person to take these opportunities on and we welcome today’s appointment by the new prime minister. It was heartening to see Theresa May highlight the issue of race and disproportionality in the justice system in her remarks outside Downing Street and we hope her government continues to regard tackling this as a priority, as well as the broader case for prison reform, as David Cameron did.
12.09pm BST
This is from Sky’s Sophy Ridge.
Department for Education will take on responsibility for higher education and skills - expanded role for new SoS @JustineGreening
12.04pm BST
In other news the Bank of England has decided to hold interest rates where they are. Normally that it not news - interest rates have remained unchanged for seven years - but there was a lot of speculation that today they would be cut.
My colleague Graeme Wearden has more on the business live blog.
Related: Bank of England leaves interest rates on hold despite Brexit fears – live updates
11.59am BST
Justine Greening has moved from international development to become the new education secretary, No 10 has confirmed. She is also becoming minister for women and equalities.
Here is the latest list of cabinet appointments, vacancies and sackings.
11.53am BST
No 10 confirms that Liz Truss has become justice secretary, and the first female lord chancellor.
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Liz Truss MP as the first female Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.
11.51am BST
Liz Truss is the new justice secretary, Sky reports.
11.49am BST
Here is Richard Adams, the Guardian’s education editor, on the sacking of Nicky Morgan.
Feeling a bit sorry for @NickyMorgan01 - she was a loyal lieutenant who sunk with the Cameron-Osborne ship.
11.45am BST
Someone has sent flowers to Number 10 this morning.
Not George Osborne or Michael Gove, one assumes ...
11.43am BST
This is from the BBC’s Vicki Young.
Sounds like Sajid Javid staying in Cabinet maybe at new Biz/DECC dept?? #reshuffle
11.42am BST
Here is some comment on the reshuffle from journalists and commentators.
From Steve Richards
New PMs usually seek to keep their predecessors' allies happy- not this one. We're witnessing a rare assertion of suddenly acquired power.
Hunt abandoned (doomed) leadership bid early & backed May, and still gets sacked. Man, she doesn't mess around.
A growing cabal of sacked ex-ministers on backbenches & a small majority to work with.. might May need to go for an early general election?
At this rate Theresa May will have sacked more cabinet ministers by lunchtime than Dave did in six years
Gvt with formal majority of 12. Six sacked Cabinet ministers already...
11.40am BST
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, has arrived at No 10.
11.38am BST
This is from the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
Sources: Theresa May is expected to hold the first meeting of her Cabinet later today #CabinetReshuffle
11.28am BST
Michael Gove, the outgoing justice secretary, only joined Twitter last month. Here is his 94th tweet.
It's been an enormous privilege to serve for the last six years. Best of luck to the new government - MG
11.25am BST
Liz Truss, the environment secretary, has arrived at No 10.
11.24am BST
Here is the updated list of cabinet appointments, vacancies and sacked ministers.
11.22am BST
Jeremy Hunt is leaving his health secretary post, but moving to a different job, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Hunt not sacked, getting a different job
11.19am BST
Theresa May has arrived at No 10. It is assumed that she was in her Commons office this morning sacking ministers in person.
(Prime ministers sometimes do their sackings in the Commons because ministers are then spared the “walk of shame” up Downing Street.)
11.15am BST
Expect Truss and Greening into Downing Street soon
That is Elizabeth Truss, the environment secretary, and Justine Greening, the international development secretary.
11.11am BST
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, is out, according to the BBC.
Jeremy Hunt also out
Hunt not sacked, getting a different job
11.05am BST
No 10 has just sent out a statement confirming that four cabinet ministers have been sacked this morning.
This morning the following cabinet ministers left the government.
11.03am BST
Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister, has described Boris Johnson, Britain’s new foreign secretary, as a liar. According to Reuters he told Europe 1 radio this morning:
I am not at all worried about Boris Johnson, but during the campaign he lied a lot to the British people and now it is he who has his back against the wall ...
[He has] his back against the wall to defend his country but also with his back against the wall the relationship with Europe should be clear. I need a partner with whom I can negotiate and who is clear, credible and reliable.
10.59am BST
This is from the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
Latest rumour: Sajid Javid gone. #CabinetReshuffle
10.53am BST
Ed Ram, whose Twitter profile says he is a journalist working at the BBC, has hastily deleted this tweet.
@stvharry i was joking around - didn't want to give the wrong impression :)
10.48am BST
Sarah Brown, Gordon’s wife, has used Twitter to send her best wishes to Theresa May’s husband.
Wishing Philip May well in his new role - a constant feeling of being one step away from unwitting error but a huge privilege all the same
10.47am BST
Sky’s Beth Rigby says she thinks Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister, is out too.
Woah: Morgan, Gove, Whittingdale OUT. Expect Letwin is OUT too - two sources tell me he's been into see May
10.44am BST
You can read an up-to-date list of cabinet appointments, sackings and vacancies here.
I am updating the post as we go along, and so you may need to refresh the page to get the latest updates.
10.42am BST
John Whittingdale has left his post as culture secretary.
Has been a privilege to serve as Culture Secretary. I wish my successor every success & will continue to support creative industries
10.41am BST
This is from the Times Educational Supplement’s Richard Vaughan.
Strong rumours that @JustineGreening is in line for education secretary following @NickyMorgan01's sacking
10.40am BST
This is from ITV’s Robert Peston.
To repeat, this is a HUGE reshuffle - total remaking of government. Massive political, cultural and social shift by @theresa_may
10.32am BST
Nicky Morgan has confirmed that she is no longer education secretary.
Disappointed not to be continuing as Education Secretary & Min for Women & Equalities - two wonderful roles it's been a privilege to hold
10.27am BST
Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, is also expected to be sacked, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Expect Nicky Morgan, who supported Gove, also to be out
10.26am BST
This is from ITV’s Robert Peston.
I always thought @David_Cameron was ruthless. Turns out he was Larry the cat compared with @theresa_may
10.22am BST
Michael Gove has been sacked as justice secretary, the BBC is reporting.
Justice Secretary Michael Gove is sacked from the cabinethttps://t.co/K6pbNnkHr0 pic.twitter.com/x6dduqAT48
Confirmed: sources say Michael Gove has been "sacked". Farewell, Notting Hill set.
10.19am BST
The most important task facing the new government is negotiating Brexit and the person in charge of that is David Davis, the new Brexit secretary.
What is he going to do? Ultimately, Theresa May will make the final decisions, but we have a very good insight into Davis’s thinking because he wrote a long article on exactly this topic for ConservativeHome on Monday.
This leaves the question of single market access. The ideal outcome, (and in my view the most likely, after a lot of wrangling), is continued tariff-free access. Once the European nations realise that we are not going to budge on control of our borders, they will want to talk, in their own interest. There may be some complexities about rules of origin and narrowly based regulatory compliance for exports into the EU, but that is all manageable.
But what if it they are irrational, as so many remain-supporting commentators asserted they would be in the run-up to the referendum?
This is one of the reasons for taking a little time before triggering Article 50. The negotiating strategy has to be properly designed, and there is some serious consultation to be done first. Constitutional propriety requires us to consult with the Scots, Welsh, and Northern Irish governments first, and common sense implies that we should consult with stakeholders like the City, CBI, TUC, small business bodies, the NFU, universities and research foundations and the like. None of them should have any sort of veto, but we should try to accommodate their concerns so long as it does not compromise the main aim. This whole process should be completed to allow triggering of article 50 before or by the beginning of next year.
In this process, we should work out what we do in the improbable event of the EU taking a dog in the manger attitude to single market tariff-free access, and insist on WTO rules and levies, including 10 per cent levies on car exports. Let us be clear: I do not believe for a moment that that will happen, but let us humour the pre-referendum Treasury fantasy.
In that eventuality, people seem to forget that the British government will be in receipt of over £2 billion of levies on EU cars alone. There is nothing to stop us supporting our indigenous car industry to make it more competitive if we so chose.
So be under no doubt: we can do deals with our trading partners, and we can do them quickly. I would expect the new prime minister on September 9th [this was written before Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the Tory leadership contest] to immediately trigger a large round of global trade deals with all our most favoured trade partners. I would expect that the negotiation phase of most of them to be concluded within between 12 and 24 months.
So within two years, before the negotiation with the EU is likely to be complete, and therefore before anything material has changed, we can negotiate a free trade area massively larger than the EU. Trade deals with the US and China alone will give us a trade area almost twice the size of the EU, and of course we will also be seeking deals with Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, the UAE, Indonesia – and many others.
There is also a political, or perhaps sentimental point. The great British industrial working classes voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. I am not at all attracted by the idea of rewarding them by cutting their rights.
9.58am BST
Angela Eagle, the Labour leadership contender, was filmed last night responding with disbelief when she heard Boris Johnson had been made foreign secretary.
I couldn’t believe that somebody who went round the country telling blatant lies could be rewarded in that way, and I thought immediately of the Hillsborough families because he repeated the slurs about them and then he went up to Merseyside and insulted Merseyside and was forced by Michael Howard to go back up and apologise.
And then I thought about what he’d said about President Obama, that somehow his Kenyan roots had made him more pro-European.
9.51am BST
ITV’s Robert Peston thinks Michael Gove will be sacked.
.@theresa_may will be doing the ministerial sackings first this morning. I suspect @michaelgove will be one asked to return to backbenches
9.50am BST
Here is a summary of the key points from Philip Hammond’s morning interviews as the new chancellor.
Our economy will change as we go forward in the future and it will require a different set of parameters to measure success. Of course we have got to reduce the deficit further but looking at how and when and at what pace we do that and how we measure our progress in doing that is something that we now need to consider in light of the new circumstances that the economy is facing.
We will come out of the single market as a result of our decision to leave the European Union. The question is how we negotiate with the European Union, not from the point of view of being members but from the point of view of being close neighbours and trade partners.
In the short term, the decision to exit the European Union came as a surprise to the markets, a surprise to a lot of people actually, a surprise to business. And therefore it’s rattled confidence, it’s cause people to put plans on hold while they wait to see how things clarify.
The fact that we’ve moved quickly to resolve the question of the leadership of the Conservative party and get a new prime minister installed I think will help to restore business and consumer confidence.
9.36am BST
Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, was at school with the broadcaster Richard Madeley. Three years ago Madeley said that Hammond was a Goth back then, and that he ‘used to arrive in class in leather trench-coat with The Guardian under his arm’.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain Hammond jokingly agreed when Piers Morgan put it to him that this could be “career-wrecking” for a Conservative (reading the Guardian, not being a Goth). Hammond said:
After making these shocking allegations, Richard Madeley did contact me to concede that actually on reflection, it probably was the Financial Times, not The Guardian.
9.26am BST
We’ll start getting new cabinet appointments at about 11am, Sky’s Beth Rigby reports.
BREAK: appointments to May's new government will start this morning at 11am
9.23am BST
Boris Johnson’s red box may contain a briefing on Brexit. But if he wants a reliable guide to the options available, he could do a lot worse than read Patrick Wintour’s article about Britain could do.
Related: What's the best Brexit Theresa May could get for Britain?
9.18am BST
Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, will be taking energy questions in the Commons, the Department for Energy says.
9.04am BST
Robert Moore, ITV’s Washington correspondent, says the appointment of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary has gone down badly with the White House. Here’s an extract from his blog.
To put it politely, it has not gone down well. Don’t even listen to the State Department spokesman saying it is business as usual.
The President’s foreign policy team read and was deeply offended by the Boris article that talked of Barack Obama as “incoherent, inconsistent and downright hypocritical ... a part-Kenyan President.”
8.59am BST
It’s energy questions in the Commons at 9.30am. Amber Rudd was made home secretary yesterday, and currently she has not been replaced as energy secretary. Presumably Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, will have to answer all the questions. (I’ve called the Department for Energy for clarification, but they could not help.)
8.52am BST
Here are the cabinet appointments so far.
(I will update this list as we go along, but you may need to refresh the page to get the updates to appear.)
8.46am BST
Here is some Twitter reaction to the Philip Hammond interview.
From ITV’s Robert Peston
Hammond's underlying message: he hopes Bank of Eng provides short-term stimulus today with interest-rate cut while he works out what to do!
Conservatives promised to end the deficit by 2020. Hammond just said Brexit had "changed the parameters."
Pledge abandoned ❌
Phil Hammond on Boris: don't worry he isn't really in charge of MI6
Hammond also tells @BBCRadio4 City has to be in Single Market - that implies EEA strategy for May administration
8.23am BST
Hammond says London provides a crucial economic support service to European businesses. So it is in their interests that the City is protect.
Q: Will the Heathrow third runway go ahead?
8.18am BST
Q: Do you still believe in eliminating the deficit?
Hammond says the approach taken in 2010 was the right one. Britain is in an “immeasurably stronger” position than it was then. But now we are in a new phase. The economy will change as a result of the Brexit vote.
8.15am BST
Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, is on the Today programme. Mishal Husain is interviewing him.
Hammond says he does not anticipate an emergency budget.
8.09am BST
I’m Andrew Sparrow, and I’m blogging now for the day.
Philip Hammond, the new chancellor, is about to be interviewed on the Today programme. I will be covering that in full.
There is no plan for an emergency budget, as Theresa May made clear. There will be an autumn statement in the normal way and then there will be a budget in the normal way. But the markets do need signals of reassurance, they need to know we will do whatever is necessary to keep the economy on track.
We have all got different styles and that is why we make a strong team. We are very different people and when you are building a team for anything you want different kinds of people with different kinds of skills. And I think Boris will be very good in this job - Boris is a very big figure in the Conservative Party, he is a big figure in the country, he is a national figure. He will be an asset to both the party and the country working as part of a team closely together with the rest of us to make sure we deliver for Britain in the circumstances we find ourselves in.
8.08am BST
Good morning and welcome to our daily politics live blog.
Clearly now we have a massive opportunity in this country to make a great success of our relationship with Europe and with the world and I’m very excited to be asked to play a part in that.”
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