Boris Johnson to Reshuffle Post-Brexit U.K. Cabinet on Thursday

(Bloomberg) --

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reshuffle his Cabinet on Thursday as he seeks to reshape his government and prepare the U.K. for its future outside the European Union.

Johnson won the biggest victory for any Conservative Party leader in more than 30 years in December’s election and is now the most powerful prime minister Britain has had since Tony Blair.

He is using his new-found strength to stamp his authority on the way the government works and has been mulling a major overhaul for weeks, inspired by his controversial and radical chief adviser Dominic Cummings.

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But British newspapers have speculated recently that Johnson’s changes are likely to be more limited, with a focus on promoting pro-EU ministers to heal the divisions caused by three years of bitter debate over Brexit.

Ministers expected to leave the government include Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan, who stayed on as a temporary measure to complete a review of Huawei Technologies Co.’s role in next-generation broadband networks, and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, who may be replaced or moved to another role.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps are among the senior officials expected to remain in Johnson’s top team.

When Cummings was asked about the reshuffle this week, he joked to a journalist that the children’s television characters PJ Masks would be better than all the country’s most senior ministers combined. “PJ Masks will do a greater job than all of them put together,” he told the BBC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Thomas Penny

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