[Malcolm Armsteen]

[Tubby Isaacs]

From the TeS:

Michelle Donelan has been appointed the new education secretary tonight following Nadhim Zahawi’s appointment as chancellor.

The Conservative MP has been universities minister since 2020, having kept her post in a major government reshuffle in September of last year.

She was elected to parliament in 2015 as MP for Chippenham and has served as a member of the Commons Education Committee.

Ms Donelan has also worked as a government whip before she was appointed parliamentary under secretary for children, to cover maternity leave for Kemi Badenoch in 2019.

As universities minister, her responsibilities covered strategy for post-16 education; higher technical education (levels 4 and 5); further education funding and accountability; lifelong learning entitlement; Institutes of Technology and National Colleges; universities and higher education reform and higher education quality.

Recently as universities minister she has championed the government’s planned Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill.

She has said the bill will put a duty on universities “to promote free speech and academic freedom, not just protect it” and said that “it will put a duty directly on Students’ Unions to protect free speech”.

Ms Donelan was state educated, having attended the County High School in Leftwich, in Cheshire, and went on to read history and politics at the University of York.

Ms Donelan’s career outside politics was in marketing, and is reported to have included working on Marie Claire magazine and for the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

John Roberts

Yeah, but Lucy Allan?! Is she likely to be thinking Donelan's too lightweight?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Fucking Christ. Would defend if a Holocaust denier was "straying into racism"? ! Racism isn't in most cases against the law anyway.

[Tubby Isaacs]

And another. Solicitor General. Surprised he didn't walk ages ago.

[Tubby Isaacs]

[satnav]

A few weeks ago there was speculation that Johnson would have a Summer reshuffle to refresh the government but after this evenings mini reshuffle it is hard to see how Johnson can now have a substantial reshuffle at the end of the month without booting out some of his loyal supporters. The only way to create room for promotions would be to sack or reshuffle the likes of Raab, Patel and Gove.

[The Weeping Angel]

Less than one year ago.

[Bones McCoy]

Less than one year ago.

He wasn't wrong about the giant toad.

[Bones McCoy]

Again, the Star comes closer to real news than the Express.

[Samanfur]

Monday's sacrificial victim joins the exodus:

And there goes another PPS:

[Samanfur]

Another one bites the dust:

[Youngian]

Straight talking Andrew Bridgen laid it out this morning; 'Boris has no views on anything and if he's no longer an election winner he's a nothing.' Fellow nutter Lee Anderson has also jumped ship. Johnson going to civil war with the ERG would be the most delicious cherry on this yummy cake. Perhaps Bozo will go on a fact finding mission to Norway.

[Samanfur]

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Men in grey suits deployed, according to some in the 1922.

[Samanfur]

Whisky and revolver incoming?

[Tubby Isaacs]

It's quite cool the way they've done this. He must have thought he was fine after he limited the damage in the Cabinet.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Whisky and revolver incoming?

So I hear (on Twitter).

[Andy McDandy]

Javid can, thanks to Cummings' antics, paint himself as his own man, came back into government at at time of national crisis, not one of the Johnson club. Sunak, as said, can do whatever he likes.

The rest of the cabinet are all far too closely tied to Johnson - they'll go down together. But the people we've seen resigning have ministerial experience and not much dependence on him, at least in the public eye.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Victoria Atkins (Home Office) has sent her badge back.

[Samanfur]

Not backward in coming forward: