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May announces new cabinet

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Following the substantial changes in Theresa May’s first cabinet, agendaNi profiles the three new faces in the Northern Ireland Office.


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James Brokenshire,

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Brokenshire has already stated publicly that he is against the introduction of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In February 2014, he was promoted to Minister of State for Immigration at the Home Office, where his roles included oversight of Border Force, UK Visas and Immigration, as well as immigration enforcement. He attended his first official event in his new role in July, signing a book of condolence in Belfast City Hall to commemorate the victims of the Nice Lorry attack.

On the range of his duties and priorities, Brokenshire said: “A key priority for me is to continue with the full implementation of the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements, to help tackle paramilitarism, put the Executive’s finances on a secure footing and address the legacy of the past.”


Kris-Hopkins-MP-NIO-Office

Kris Hopkins,

Junior Minister in the Northern Ireland Office

The new junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office will be Kris Hopkins MP, who served as a soldier in Northern Ireland in the Duke of Wellington’s regiment. Like Brokenshire, he was a member of the remain camp in the EU referendum debate.

A member of parliament since May 2010, Hopkins’ former appointments include government Whip, and junior minister for Communities and Local Government. Hopkins also campaigned on behalf of Theresa May in the recent Conservative Party leadership contest.

Hopkins has been outspoken on a number of issues relating to Northern Ireland that intersected with his military past. In an article in the Yorkshire Post written in the aftermath of the Saville report’s publication, Hopkins made reference to feelings of anger upon seeing deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at a Conservative party conference. He ended his article on a hopeful note saying; “Northern Ireland needs to be a normal place, and that is the future that I want to see.”


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Lord Andrew Dunlop,

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office

They are joined at the Northern Ireland Office by Lord Andrew Dunlop, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office. Dunlop is an unelected peer and was a member of the policy unit in Margaret Thatcher’s government overseeing taxation and Scottish affairs. He was seen as a central figure in the introduction of the controversial community charge or ‘poll tax’, in 1989. Prior to the Scottish referendum debate, Dunlop was appointed in 2012 as principal adviser to David Cameron within Downing Street on devolved constitutional issues, and subsequently to the Scotland Office in May 2015.


Full Cabinet

  • Theresa May MP, Prime Minister – Remain
  • Philip Hammond MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer – Remain
  • Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department – Remain
  • Boris Johnson MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – Leave
  • Elizabeth Truss MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice – Remain
  • Michael Fallon MP, Secretary of State for Defence – Remain
  • Damian Green MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Remain
  • Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Health – Remain
  • David Lidington MP, Leader of the House of Commons  – Remain
  • Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for International Development – Leave
  • Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities – Remain
  • Baroness Evans of Bowes Park Leader of the House of Lords – Leave
  • Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport – Leave
  • James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Remain
  • Andrea Leadsom MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Leave
  • Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – Remain
  • Alun Cairns MP, Secretary of State for Wales – Remain
  • Patrick McLoughlin MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – Remain
  • Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport – Remain
  • David Mundell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland – Remain
  • Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Remain
  • David Davis MP, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union – Leave
  • Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade – Leave
  • Baroness Anelay Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
  • Ben Gummer MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General – Remain
  • David Gauke MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Remain
  • Gavin Williamson MP, Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) – Remain
  • Jeremy Wright MP, Attorney General – Remain
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