Who is the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister?
The Deputy Prime Minister of the UK is a very senior member of the central government.
With Liz Truss now voted in as Prime Minister and being approved by the Queen, she’s got straight to work hiring and firing new roles for the Cabinet.
Dominic Raab, the former Deputy PM, has been sacked, meaning there’s a new Deputy in town, as well as a new PM.
Who is the new Deputy Prime Minister under Liz Truss and what are their roles and responsibilities?
Here is all you need to know.
Who is the Deputy Prime Minister?
The office is currently held by Thérèse Coffey, who is the first woman to serve in the position.
Ms Coffey has also been appointed the role of Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in Liz Truss’ Cabinet reshuffle.
A long-time supporter and friend to Ms Truss, the pair became close after both running for parliamentary candidate selection together in 2009 – Ms Truss got the Norfolk seat and Ms Coffey ended up winning the nearby seat of Suffolk Coastal.
Ms Coffey, who before her new positions was the former work and pensions secretary, was one of the key players in Liz Truss’ leadership campaign – and her loyalty has paid off.
On her appointment to the dual roles of Deputy PM and Secretary of Health, she wrote that she was ‘honoured’ to be taking on the position and that her first focus would be ‘ABCD – ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists.’
Before Ms Coffey took the role on on September 6, Dominic Raab served as Deputy under Boris Johnson.
Mr Raab was previously the Foreign Secretary and Mr Johnson’s First Secretary of State, a position seen by many as the unofficial deputy to the PM.
Past Deputy PMs have included Nick Clegg, who was deputy to David Cameron during the 2010 to 2015 coalition government, and John Prescott as Tony Blair’s deputy from 1997 to 2007.
What responsibilities does the Deputy Prime Minister have?
The main role of the Deputy Prime Minister is to stand in at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), chair the cabinet when the Prime Minister is absent, or hold important meetings.
The position does not have a salary and is expected to be carried out alongside the appointees’ normal duties.
In the past, Mr Raab was forced to step in when Mr Johnson was hospitalised with Covid-19 in April 2020, although at the time Raab was First Secretary of State and had not yet been appointed as deputy.
UK Prime Ministers don’t always appoint an official deputy, and their unofficial second-in-command is often their first secretary or similar.
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