This is a list of resignations from the Second government formed by Prime Minister Theresa May. After forming a Conservative minority government on 11 June 2017, Theresa May faced a significant number of front bench resignations. These included 16 departures from the Cabinet, including three from the Great Offices of State. She experienced 60 ministerial departures with 42 of these being resignations due to disunity regarding Brexit discord. Lastly, Theresa May herself resigned on 24 July 2019, with Boris Johnson being appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II shortly after.
Context and implications for government
The pace and amount of resignations were described as 'unprecedented' by the Institute for Government, with resignations impacting the civil functioning of the government. For example, in March 2019 fifteen posts had been left vacant due to resignations and a lack of MPs willing to fill positions. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd had to take on Sarah Newton's responsibilities as Minister of State for Disabled People as the position was left unfilled two weeks after her resignation. In less than three years, Theresa May saw more resignations than Thatcher or Blair. The resignations also occurred amid a breakdown of cabinet collective responsibility, with Chief Whip Julian Smith describing May's Cabinet as exhibiting the 'worst cabinet ill-discipline in history', as well as various MPs resigning the whip, including three to join The Independent Group of MPs.
2017
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| Minister (Cabinet members shown in bold) | Office | Date of resignation | Reason | |
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| Rt Hon The Lord Bridges of Headley | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | 12 June | Differences between May's approach to Brexit and his own. | |
| Andrew Percy MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth | 14 June | Decided to "pursue other challenges" and resigned despite being invited to remain in government. | |
| Rt Hon The Lord Price | Minister of State for Trade Policy | 3 September | Wanted to pursue 'business and writing interests'. | |
| Rt Hon The Baroness Anelay of St Johns PC | Minister of State for Exiting the European Union | 27 October | Resigned on health grounds, due to an injury sustained in 2015. | |
| Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP | Secretary of State for Defence | 1 November | Allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour. | |
| Christopher Pincher MP | Comptroller of the Household | 5 November | Allegations of sexual assault and harassment. | |
| Rt Hon Priti Patel MP | Secretary of State for International Development | 8 November | Conflict of interest arising from secret meetings with the Israeli government. | |
| Rt Hon Damian Green MP | First Secretary of State Minister for the Cabinet Office | 20 December | Found to have lied about the presence of pornographic images on his office computer. | |
2018
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| Minister (Cabinet members shown in bold) | Office | Date of resignation | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | 8 January | Resigned on health grounds, due to an upcoming lung operation. | |
| Rt Hon Justine Greening MP | Secretary of State for Education | 8 January | Refused to accept a new position at DWP during the 2018 cabinet reshuffle. | |
| Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP | Home Secretary | 29 April | Misled the Home Affairs Select Committee during a hearing on the Windrush scandal. | |
| Phillip Lee MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice | 12 June | Opposition to the government's approach to Brexit. Lee later defected to the Liberal Democrats due to the Brexit policy of Boris Johnson. | |
| Rt Hon Greg Hands MP | Minister of State for International Trade | 21 June | Opposition to the expansion of Heathrow Airport; voted against the Airports National Policy Statement. | |
| Rt Hon David Davis MP | Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | 8 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Steve Baker MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | 9 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | 9 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Conor Burns MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Office | 9 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Chris Green MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Transport | 9 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Andrew Griffiths MP | Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 13 July | Allegations of sexual misconduct. | |
| Robert Courts MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Office | 15 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Scott Mann MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to HM Treasury | 16 July | Opposition to the Chequers Agreement. | |
| Guto Bebb MP | Minister for Defence Procurement | 16 July | Opposition to government-backed amendments to the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill. | |
| Tracey Crouch MP | Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness | 1 November | Opposition to policy rollout delays announced in the 2018 budget. | |
| Jo Johnson MP | Minister of State for Transport Minister for London | 9 November | Opposition to the government's handling of Brexit negotiations. | |
| Shailesh Vara MP | Minister of State for Northern Ireland | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. | |
| Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP | Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. | |
| Rt Hon Esther McVey MP | Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. | |
| Suella Braverman MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. | |
| Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Education | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. | |
| Ranil Jayawardena MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Work and Pensions | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement. | |
| Rehman Chishti MP | Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Pakistan | 15 November | Opposition to the Draft Withdrawal Agreement and the government's handling of the Asia Bibi blasphemy case. | |
| Sam Gyimah MP | Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation | 30 November | Opposition to the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration. | |
| Will Quince MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministry of Defence | 8 December | Opposition to the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration. | |
| Rt Hon The Lord O'Shaughnessy | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health | 31 December | Resigned due to "family circumstances." | |
2019
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| Minister (Cabinet members shown in bold) | Office | Date of resignation | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gareth Johnson MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Exiting the European Union | 14 January | Voted against the Withdrawal Agreement in the first meaningful vote. | |
| Craig Tracey MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for International Development | 15 January | Voted against the Withdrawal Agreement in the first meaningful vote. | |
| Eddie Hughes MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 15 January | Voted against the Withdrawal Agreement in the first meaningful vote. | |
| Alberto Costa MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Scotland Office | 27 February | Asked to resign after tabling an amendment to protect rights of EU citizens. | |
| George Eustice MP | Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food | 28 February | Dissatisfaction with the government acceding to a possible vote on delaying Brexit. | |
| Sarah Newton MP | Minister of State for Disabled People | 13 March | Voted against the government whip and in favour of the "Spelman amendment." | |
| Paul Masterton MP | Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Scotland Office | 13 March | Voted against the government whip and supported the amended motion after the "Spelman amendment" passed. | |
| Richard Harrington MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Industry | 25 March | Voted against the government whip and in favour of the "Letwin amendment." | |
| Steve Brine MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care | 25 March | Voted against the government whip and in favour of the "Letwin amendment." | |
| Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP | Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa | 25 March | Voted against the government whip and in favour of the "Letwin amendment." | |
| Nigel Adams MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | 3 April | Opposition to the Prime Minister's attempt to find common ground on a Brexit deal with Jeremy Corbyn. | |
| Chris Heaton-Harris MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | 3 April | Opposition to a further extension of Article 50. | |
| Rt Hon The Lord Bates | Minister of State for International Development | 23 April | Wanted the freedom to explore a "process for restoring our national unity." | |
| Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP | Secretary of State for Defence | 1 May | Dismissed by PM after National Security Council investigation found Williamson leaked highly classified information, in contradiction to the Official Secrets Act, regarding Huawei's 5G network to a national newspaper. | |
| Rt Hon The Baroness Fairhead | Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion | 7 May | Resigned for "personal reasons." | |
| Rt Hon The Baroness Manzoor | Baroness-in-Waiting Government Whip | 7 May | Resigned for "personal reasons." | |
| Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP | Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council | 22 May | Resigned due to opposition to the Government's Withdrawal Agreement Bill which was set to be introduced. | |
| Margot James MP | Minister of State for Digital and Creative Industries | 18 July | Resigned in order to support an amendment seeking to prevent prorogation of Parliament. | |
| Andrew Percy MP | Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Canada | 22 July | Resigned over opposition to how no deal Brexit policies would harm UK–Canada trade. | |
| Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP | Minister of State for Europe and the Americas | 22 July | Resigned in opposition to the incoming Prime Minister's acceptance of a no deal Brexit. | |
| Rt Hon Anne Milton MP | Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills | 23 July | Resigned due to 'grave concerns' over Boris Johnson's Brexit policies. | |
| Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP | Chancellor of the Exchequer | 24 July | Resigned in protest at Boris Johnson's willingness to leave the EU without a deal. | |
| Rt Hon David Gauke MP | Secretary of State for Justice Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain | 24 July | Resigned in protest at Boris Johnson's willingness to leave the EU without a deal. | |
| Rt Hon Rory Stewart OBE FRSL FRSGS MP | Secretary of State for International Development | 24 July | Resigned in protest at Boris Johnson's willingness to leave the EU without a deal. | |
| The Rt Hon David Lidington CBE MP | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Minister for the Cabinet Office | 24 July | May's de facto Deputy PM resigned in protest at Boris Johnson's willingness to leave the EU without a deal, as well as believing it was time to leave the frontbench. | |
| Rt Hon The Lord Taylor of Holbeach | Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords | 24 July | Resigned independent of the "political situation" having planned to resign for a long time beforehand. | |
See also
- 2018 British cabinet reshuffle
- List of departures from the first Johnson ministry
- List of departures from the second Johnson ministry
- List of departures from the Truss ministry
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