UK PM Sunak set to announce cabinet reshuffle
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may announce on Tuesday a minor Cabinet reshuffle.
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends the Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain February 1, 2023. (Reuters)
The United Kingdom had three different prime ministers within a two-month period last year. In late October, Rishi Sunak was appointed as the new prime minister by King Charles III of Britain.
According to UK media reports, Sunak will announce a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday. The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will reportedly be split up into three separate ministries by the Prime Minister. There may also be a new science and digital department created, in addition to divisions within the Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport.
Some Conservative lawmakers were caught off guard by the potential government shuffle because new prime ministers frequently begin to reorganize their teams before the 100-day mark, according to media reports.
According to reports, the Prime Minister will also choose a new Conservative Party chairman after Nadhim Zahawi was ousted last month after an investigation revealed that he did not file the correct tax returns.
The scandal surrounding the brief-lived former finance minister erupted after Labor Party lawyer Dan Neidle revealed that Zahawi allegedly failed to pay capital gains taxes after selling shares in YouGov, the polling company he co-founded, using the Balshore Investments Limited trust in Gibraltar because it was an offshore entity.
Zahawi was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Boris Johnson and was fired by Liz Truss.
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According to a recent YouGov poll, more than 70% of UK residents have a negative view of the country's political situation following frequent changes in government leaders in 2022 and economic turmoil.
In addition, more than half the respondents - 54 percent - expressed the opinion that today's politicians are "less honest" than those of the past; 48 percent said they were "more corrupt," and 53 percent reckoned they were "less likely to work in the country's best interests".
