# The UK Cabinet reshuffle thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 13, 2016, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798 "2016-07-13T10:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/1 "2016-07-13T10:30:09Z")
So who’s going to be in May’s Cabinet? Who’s going to be cast out? I predict that Cameron will be totally out. He’ll return to the back benches. Osborne too will be gone. Johnson might be offered Culture, Media, and Sport. Over to you! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/2 "2016-07-13T20:34:49Z")
So Boris as Foreign Secretary? It’s a good fit. David Davis as SoS for Brexit is also a good fit. Good riddance to Osborne. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/3 "2016-07-14T09:45:08Z")
Gove is gone. Good riddance. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/4 "2016-07-14T09:59:31Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So Boris as Foreign Secretary? It’s a good fit. > David Davis as SoS for Brexit is also a good fit. > > Good riddance to Osborne. I don’t see how Boris is a good fit as Foreign Secretary, to put it mildly. It’s a role that requires people to be on top of a number of highly demanding briefs, be able to manage crises, be able to think strategically, to take a strong position and stick to it, and to manage multi-lateral negotiations. These are not Boris’s strengths. He’s not a detail guy, he doesn’t have any spine, he can’t cope in a crisis, he doesn’t have a long-term vision of anything, and he can’t play groups off against each other. He’s demonstrated these flaws in office as Mayor of London, in running the Brexit campaign, in editing a magazine and in pretty much everything he’s ever done. The idea that Boris will be the man breaking off a meeting on Britain’s strategy on China’s territorial claims to deal with a crisis in the Middle East before holding a hard line with Putin over the Ukraine is laughable. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/5 "2016-07-14T10:34:11Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Gove is gone. Good riddance. Yes, bye bye back-stabber Gove. > [@Stanislaus](#): > > I don’t see how Boris is a good fit as Foreign Secretary, to put it mildly. It’s a role that requires people to be on top of a number of highly demanding briefs, be able to manage crises, be able to think strategically, to take a strong position and stick to it, and to manage multi-lateral negotiations. > > These are not Boris’s strengths. He’s not a detail guy, he doesn’t have any spine, he can’t cope in a crisis, he doesn’t have a long-term vision of anything, and he can’t play groups off against each other. He’s demonstrated these flaws in office as Mayor of London, in running the Brexit campaign, in editing a magazine and in pretty much everything he’s ever done. > > The idea that Boris will be the man breaking off a meeting on Britain’s strategy on China’s territorial claims to deal with a crisis in the Middle East before holding a hard line with Putin over the Ukraine is laughable. I completely agree. Plus Boris has already insulted many important people that he’s now supposed to work with. I think May has made a huge blunder. Boris currently has a high profile, but there were other Cabinet jobs he could have done. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/6 "2016-07-14T12:08:13Z")
I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised with Boris. And Osborne didn’t get much credit, but he did help sort the economy out. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/7 "2016-07-14T12:17:50Z")
Boris is an excellent fit. The job of Foreign Secretary is primarily about selling Britain abroad these days and that’s just what he does well, as witness the superlative job he did selling London as Mayor. I too think he’ll surprise people. So he’s not politically correct, that’s a plus in my book. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/8 "2016-07-14T21:44:53Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > The idea that Boris will be the man breaking off a meeting on Britain’s strategy on China’s territorial claims to deal with a crisis in the Middle East before holding a hard line with Putin over the Ukraine is laughable. You’re in the wrong era. Number 10 takes care of all that stuff nowadays. The FCO role is mostly about selling the UK. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/9 "2016-07-15T00:45:29Z")
> [@glee](#): > > . . . Boris currently has a high profile, but there were other Cabinet jobs he could have done. Lord Warden of the Privies springs to mind. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/10 "2016-07-15T01:02:17Z")
Was there a deal that Leadsom would be promoted for dropping her campaign? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/11 "2016-07-15T10:16:58Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Was there a deal that Leadsom would be promoted for dropping her campaign? Who knows? But explaining to farmers what’s going to happen now we have to think up our own subsidy programme to replace the CAP … that’s another matter. Mrs. L did once suggest, years ago, that all subsidies be withdrawn. So far, as I understand it, Mrs. L’s thinking is still very outline - a quote reported this morning is \*“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. “It would make so much more sense if those with the big fields do the sheep, and those with the hill farms do the butterflies. "\* ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/12 "2016-07-15T10:34:03Z")
I still can’t help but feel that putting Boris in as Foreign Secretary was a deliberate move to keep him in check - he’ll be so busy either[trying not to insult foreigners or apologising for his latest gaffe](http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/14/boris-johnson-life-xenophobic-gaffes) that he won’t be able to cause trouble for May. (On the insulting foreigners front, may I remind you that Boris recently won a competition to compose the “[most insulting limerick about the Turkish President](http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/19/boris-johnson-wins-most-offensive-erdogan-poem-competition)”, something which, while hilarious and well-deserved, from a political standpoint is likely to make future conversations with Erdogan and Merkel a tad awkward.) Likewise, Leadsom is being forced to put her money where her mouth is - or rather to take away money where her mouth is. Note to self - this needs work. If she wants to cut farm subsidies, she can take the credit or blame for it directly. Not a bad idea in itself. And I see Liz Truss has the Justice portfolio. I look forward to her series of horrifyingly bad speeches on this new brief. ---
**Author:** ![Seren359](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Seren359](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren359)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/13 "2016-07-15T14:06:55Z")
Classic and very clever deception tactics. While the clown (Boris) is out front entertaining the crowd. Others are round the back stealing the silver! But seriously Boris speaks several languages and is much more clever than he looks. ---
**Author:** ![Seren359](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Seren359](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren359)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uk-cabinet-reshuffle-thread/759798/14 "2016-07-15T14:09:29Z")
**May vs Sturgeon.** Anyone else think that May has gone to “Make her an offer she can’t refuse.” :eek: