To avoid coup, May installs Remainers on key posts

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ANI London [Britain]
Last Updated : Jun 12 2017 | 5:57 PM IST

To avoid the coup against her government, British Prime Minister Theresa May has installed Remainers in key positions in her new government in the wake of dismal results of the election. The move is understood to have been taken to shore up support for a hard Brexit.

May faces a crucial test on Monday when she addresses Conservative party MPs at a meeting of the powerful 1922 Committee but it appears that she will pursue a softer approach to Britain's departure from the EU.

In a cabinet reshuffle, May promoted long-time friend and ally Damian Green to First Secretary of State - thus making him effectively her deputy. Michael Gove has also made a come back, who has been appointed environment secretary in the May government.

Gove is set to become a key adviser on Brexit, as well as a powerful ally of the Prime Minister in getting any Brexit deal through the House of Commons.

Prime Minister May is well aware of the fact that she will face a tough challenge in the House of Commons after the election results as majority of MPs are in favour of a softer Brexit than May initially envisaged.

On the other hand, Allies of Boris Johnson have been gearing up for a fresh leadership bid, although the Foreign Secretary himself has denied such rumours and has rather appealed for unity behind May.

May appears to have avoided an immediate coup, with Boris Johnson telling unsettled MPs to "calm down", but Conservatives from all wings of the party are still openly speculating that the Prime Minister's days are numbered. The former chancellor George Osborne yesterday branded her a "dead woman walking",The Independent reported.

Remainer is a person who voted for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum. May's new chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, was also a passionate Remainer, having branded the Leave campaign as the 'politics of hate and division'.

Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, May's joint chiefs of staff, had faced fierce criticism over their role in the Tory election campaign as the party failed to secure a majority and the Prime Minister was left clinging to power.

The embattled Prime Minister also appointed close ally and long-time friend Damian Green as first secretary of state in a bid to consolidate her control on the government.

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First Published: Jun 12 2017 | 5:57 PM IST

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