James Cleverly has issued an unusual public appeal to Rishi Sunak to keep his job as foreign secretary in the next reshuffle, as speculation mounts that the prime minister could change his frontbench team in the coming days.
The foreign secretary told the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday he would have to be dragged out of his job “with nail marks down the parquet flooring”, after speculation he could be moved to the defence brief to replace Ben Wallace.
His comments are a departure from the normal ministerial practice of not commenting on reshuffles, and add further weight to reports that Sunak intends to make big changes to his top team before next year’s election.
Cleverly told the US conference: “If anyone in the UK is watching, listening, particularly you prime minister, I very much want to stay put … I very much want to stay put as foreign secretary. It’s a job that I love, I think it’s an important job.”
He added: “This is the job that I know, the job that I like to think I’m good at, and the job that I absolutely adore. So my plan is to stay put. If I’m going to be dragged out at some point in the future, you’ll see the nail marks down the parquet flooring in my office.”
Wallace said over the weekend he would seek to leave his role as defence secretary at the next opportunity, and stand down as an MP in the general election. His public declaration has intensified speculation in Westminster of an imminent reshuffle, something Wallace appeared to confirm on Tuesday when he said there could be one within days.
Sunak faces the possibility of losing three byelections on Thursday, and some have speculated he could wish to use a reshuffle to reassert his authority over the parliamentary Conservative party.
Asked about the possibility, the prime minister’s press secretary said on Wednesday: “There are no plans for a reshuffle.” Asked whether there would be one in the future, she added: “I’m not going to comment on the longer term.”
Wallace and Cleverly are not the only ministers commenting publicly on the possible reshuffle. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Foreign Office minister, on Monday replied to a tweet recommending her for the role as defence secretary, saying: “It would be a privilege to serve.”
Sunak has carried out one reshuffle since becoming prime minister last October, though that was a limited one aimed more at creating new Whitehall departments than moving around his most senior ministers.
Tory MPs expect this one to be more wide-ranging, and not just because of Wallace’s departure. Other high-profile members of the government tipped to be on their way out include Steve Barclay, the health secretary, and Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary. Some reports have suggested Sunak could also move Suella Braverman, the home secretary, and even Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor.
