As Prime Minister, you get something of a pass on those Cabinet members that you inherit from your predecessor. So, Michael Fallon’s resignation as Defence Secretary was not a devastating blow to Theresa May. After all, it was David Cameron who had first appointed Fallon to that job. But the responsibility for Damian Green’s presence in the Cabinet is Theresa May’s alone.
Green is as close a political ally of hers as it is possible to be. He was heavily involved in her leadership campaign and on becoming Prime Minister, she immediately elevated him to the Cabinet. After the election disaster, she turned to him to shore up her position. She promoted him to First Secretary of State – the number two slot in the Cabinet – and gave him the responsibility for rebuilding her relationship with the many ministers who felt bruised by how they had been treated by her former chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.
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