Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed ministers to her shaky government on Sunday, as some Conservative colleagues rallied to support her and others said her days were numbered after last week’s disastrous election.
May is seeking a deal with a Northern Irish party to prop up the Conservative minority administration and lawmakers said the rebuff from voters meant the government will have to abandon planned policies and rethink its strategy for European Union exit talks, CBS News reported.
A stream of senior lawmakers entered May’s 10 Downing St. office on Sunday afternoon to learn what roles they had been given in government.
May’s weakened position in the party ruled out big changes. All the most senior ministers, including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon and Home Secretary Amber Rud, kept their jobs and there were few changes in the Cabinet lineup.
Damian Green, a lawmaker in the pro-EU wing of the party, was promoted to first secretary of state–effectively deputy prime minister.
May also reappointed an old adversary–Michael Gove, a former rival for the Conservative leadership whom May fired from the Cabinet when she took office last year. The pro-Brexit Gove was appointed environment secretary.
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