Stephen Crabb has resigned from his role as secretary of state for work and pensions, to be replaced by former coalition immigration minister and justice secretary Damian Green.
Following a meeting with the new prime minister Theresa May on Thursday afternoon (14 July), Mr Crabb - who as been in the role since Ian Duncan Smith resigned from the cabinet position in March - reportedly said his resignation was “in the best interests of my family”.
Following former prime minister David Cameron’s resignation in June, Mr Crabb stood as one of the five candidates to replace him as leader of the Conservative Party, but became the second to drop out of the race.
His future came into question last week when it was alleged he sent sexually explicit text messages to a woman who wasn’t his wife.
Mr Crabb was the fifth casualty of the new PM’s first cabinet. Justice secretary Michael Gove, culture secretary John Whittingdale and education secretary Nicky Morgan all departed.
Former Conservative Party leadership candidate and high profile Brexiteer David Davis, meanwhile, was appointed to the role of secretary of state for exiting the European Union - a job that has already been informally dubbed “Brexit secretary”.
The new chancellor Philip Hammond has already signalled a scaling back of austerity measures.
He said that while austerity was the right answer to the 2008 financial crash, the economy was entering “a new phase” and it was right to review the pace at which the government balanced the books.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
