LIZ Truss has begun filling her Cabinet, with key positions set to be awarded to Jacob Rees-Mogg and Suella Braverman, it is being reported.
According to The Times, members of the Foreign Secretary’s team believe the Tory leadership campaign is effectively over as Rishi Sunak slips further behind in the polls.
The Tory favourite is apparently already drawing up her Cabinet and is in the process of drafting an emergency budget if she takes over from Boris Johnson.
Among the key roles to be filled is chancellor, with Kwasi Kwarteng being said to take Nadhim Zahawi’s role under a Truss administration.
Kwarteng and Truss are ideologically aligned, both coming from the right of the party. The pair co-authored the 2012 book Britannia Unchained, a vision for a deregulated UK economy.
Attorney General Suella Braverman is said to be in line to replace Priti Patel as Home Secretary. The Times reports that this position is said to be a “done deal”.
The controversial politician was the first to put her hat in the ring for Tory leader and was ultimately unsuccessful. She has previously vowed to wage a “war on wokeness”.
Etonian and Boris Johnson and Liz Truss loyalist Jacob Rees-Mogg is said to be up for the role of levelling secretary.
James Cleverly is expected to become foreign secretary while Therese Coffey is being considered for chief whip.
Kemi Badenoch, who ran an unsuccessful campaign to be Tory leader, is said to be up for either education or culture secretary.
Michael Gove and Dominic Raab are both said to be ruled out in a Truss Cabinet.
On Saturday, Gove announced he is backing Sunak to be the next PM, as he announced plans to retire from front-line politics.
Other considerations include Sajid Javid for Northern Ireland secretary and rival Sunak for health secretary while John Redwood could go to the Treasury.
SNP MP and shadow Cabinet Office spokesperson, Brendan O’Hara, told The National: “If these reports are true they provide a depressing insight into the circus this country will be governed by throughout what's set to be a terrible time for families and households, with the Tory-made cost of living crisis spiralling completely out of control.
“Johnson may be out but it’s clear many of the far-right ministers who for so long overlooked his lockdown lawbreaking and scandal-filled premiership are safe in their positions within government - free to wreak even more havoc.
“No matter who wins though, and no matter who takes up cabinet seats, they’ll be Tories Scotland didn’t vote for, all signed up to the hard-Brexit and austerity agenda that has devastated the country and left households in a position where very soon they’ll be forced to decide whether to heat their homes or put food on the table.
“Whether it’s Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak, Scotland cannot afford more damaging Tory rule and must be able to escape the chaos and free itself from the grip of the Conservative Party forever.”
A Scottish Green party spokesperson told The National: "The last 12 years of Tory rule have been a disaster, with cuts, austerity, a reckless and disastrous Brexit that Scotland didn't vote for and a cost-of-living crisis that Downing Street has done so much to fuel.
"Suella Braverman and Jacob Rees-Mogg weren't mere bystanders, they actively supported every single cruel policy that Boris Johnson introduced, whether it was the universal credit cut that plunged thousands into poverty or the racist deportation flights.
"Independence has never felt so vital. With inflation soaring and bills skyrocketing, it is more important than ever that we take our own path and that we do things differently."
