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Bloomberg
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to carry out a mini reshuffle of his cabinet in an effort to re-set his premiership after a rocky first 100 days in office, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Sunak will appoint a new Conservative Party chair, after he sacked Nadhim Zahawi over a tax scandal more than a week ago, as part of a wider overhaul, officials told Cabinet ministers Monday. The Sun reported that Business secretary Grant Shapps is tipped to be named party chairman, but a person familiar with the matter denied that was the case.
A cabinet meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday morning was rescheduled for the afternoon, a person familiar with the matter said. That suggests the moves weren’t going as smoothly as expected.
Officials have held talks with ministers in recent days about splitting up Shapps’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, according to a person familiar. This is something Sunak proposed during last year’s leadership round.
Sunak’s office declined to comment late Monday and again on Tuesday.
The move comes as pressure builds on Sunak to re-think his decision to appoint Dominic Raab as his Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, who’s since come under investigation over bullying allegations.
Sunak’s ruling Tory party sits around 20 points behind the Labour opposition in most polls, and in the face of a possible general election defeat in less than two years is facing mounting calls in his own party to cut taxes.
The premier has been unimpressed with the quality of work produced by BEIS in recent years, taking particular issue with its focus on energy, which has left less capacity to produce significant pro-business policies, the person said.
One option being discussed is the creation of a stand-alone energy department, with a separate office focused on business and trade, and a third based on science and technology, the person said. The break-up could also impact both the trade and culture departments, they said.