Brown completes reshuffle
2008-10-05 23:51
London - British Prime Minster Gordon Brown
completed a government reshuffle marked by the shock return of
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson with a wide shakeup of
junior ministerial positions on Sunday.
Environment Minister Phil Woolas was confirmed in the
politically sensitive post of immigration minister, while Vernon
Coaker was promoted within the Home Office to police minister.
Lord Adonis, closely associated with the flagship academy
schools programme, made a surprise move from education to the
Department for Transport.
There was no post for left-winger Jon Cruddas despite media
speculation that Brown would bring him on board to stop him becoming a rallying-point for disgruntled lawmakers.
Cruddas, a critic of big business, came a close third in the
party's 2007 deputy leadership election and is popular with
grassroots Labour supporters.
Unexpected recall
On Friday Brown unexpectedly recalled Mandelson from
Brussels to be business secretary, in a move that stunned
colleagues and political commentators.
Brown said he had appointed Mandelson, long regarded as his
sworn enemy, as a political heavyweight to deal with the fallout
from the credit crunch.
Economists say Britain looks bound to slide into its first
recession since the early 1990s.
Analysts also saw the move as a way for Brown to stifle
dissent within the Cabinet from party colleagues frustrated with
the government's poor public standing.
An ICM poll published in the News of The World newspaper on
Sunday said more than 160 of Labour's 349 MPs would lose their
Parliamentary seats if an election were held now.
- Reuters