# 1999 British cabinet reshuffle

On 27 July 1999, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held his first major cabinet reshuffle of his government.

## Background

It was considered that Health secretary Frank Dobson would stand in the 2000 London mayoral election against Labour-turned-Independent Ken Livingstone. But he denied accusations of him being moved out of government.
Mo Mowlam expected to be replaced as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by Peter Mandelson but this did not happen until October 1999. The reshuffle was anticipated as being the cull of Old Labour and the promotion of Blairites from the 1997 general election. It was reported that Alastair Campbell, Blair's Press Secretary, had influence over changes at Cabinet level.
The reshuffle was delayed by a week following Labour's unexpected success in the 1999 Eddisbury by-election.

## Cabinet-level changes

* Margaret Beckett becomes Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
* The Baroness Jay of Paddington becomes Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, Leader of the House of Lords and Minister for Women
* Stephen Byers becomes Chief Secretary to the Treasury
* Ann Taylor becomes Chief Whip, which became a cabinet position
* Jack Cunningham becomes Cabinet Office Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
* Nick Brown becomes Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
* Alistair Darling becomes Secretary of State for Social Security
* Paul Murphy promoted to Secretary of State for Wales from Minister of State for Northern Ireland
* Peter Mandelson moves from being Minister Without Portfolio to being Trade and Industry Secretary
* John Reid becomes Transport Minister, which is no longer a cabinet position (although Reid will continue attending cabinet meetings)
* David Simon, Baron Simon of Highbury left as the trade minister responsible for preparing Britain joining the euro.
Ivor Richard, Harriet Harman, David Clark and Gavin Strang left the cabinet
The President of the Board of Trade ceased to be a title used by the Trade Secretary

## Junior ministerial changes

| Minister | Position before reshuffle | Position after reshuffle |
| Peter Kilfoyle | Minister of State for the Cabinet Office Minister of State at the Office of Public Service | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence |
| Ian McCartney | Minister of State for Competitiveness | Minister of State for the Cabinet Office Minister of State at the Office of Public Service |
| Barbara Roche | Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration |
| Stephen Timms | | Financial Secretary to the Treasury |
| Tony Lloyd | Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Backbench MP |
| John Battle | Minister of State for Trade and Industry | Minister of State for Foreign Affairs |
| Brian Wilson | Minister of State for Scotland | Minister of State for Trade and Industry |
| Joyce Quin | Minister of State for Europe | Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |
| Geoff Hoon | Minister of State for Africa | Minister of State for Europe |
| Peter Hain | | Minister of State for Africa |
| Gareth Williams | Minister of State for Prisons | |
| Charles Clarke | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Employment | Minister of State for Prisons |
| Kate Hoey | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs | Minister for Sport |
| Tony Banks | Minister for Sport | Backbench MP |
| Steve Bassam | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs |
| George Howarth | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Drugs & Elections | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland |
| Helen Liddell | Minister of State for Transport | Minister of State for Trade and Industry |
| Gus Macdonald | | Minister of State for Transport |
| Hilary Armstrong | Minister of State for Housing and Planning | |
| Nick Raynsford | Minister for London | Minister of State for Housing and Planning Minister of State for the Regions |
| Richard Caborn | Minister of State for the Regions | Minister of State for Trade |
| Keith Hill | Assistant Whip | Minister for London Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport |
| Alan Meale | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy, Environment & the Regions | Backbench MP |
| Beverley Hughes | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions |
| Jeff Rooker | Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | Minister of State for Pensions |
| Stephen Timms | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Social Security | Minister of State for Pensions |
| Bernard Donoughue | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Farming and the Food Industry | Backbench MP |
| Helene Hayman | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Farming and the Food Industry |
| Doug Henderson | Minister of State for the Armed Forces | |
| John Spellar | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence | Minister of State for the Armed Forces |
| John Gilbert | Minister of State for Defence Procurement | Backbench MP |
| Elizabeth Symons | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | Minister of State for Defence Procurement |
| George Mudie | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment | Backbench MP |
| Jacqui Smith | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment |
| Michael Wills | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Employment |
| Malcolm Wicks | Backbench MP | Minister for Lifelong Learning in the Department for Education and Employment |
| Gisela Stuart | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health |
| Alan Johnson | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Small Firms, Trade & Industry |
| Keith Vaz | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Lord Chancellors Department | Minister for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs |
| David Lock | Backbench MP | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Lord Chancellors Department |
| John Sewel | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Backbench MP |
| Calum MacDonald | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Backbench MP |
| Peter Hain | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | Minister of State for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia |
| Jon Owen Jones | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | |
| David Hanson | Assistant Whip | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales |
| Gerry Sutcliffe | Backbench MP | Assistant Whip |
| Philip Hunt | Lord-in-waiting | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health |
| Willy Bach | Backbench MP (given peerage on day of reshuffle) | Lord-in-waiting |
* ↑ According to the ministerial pay scale:Minister of State > Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State > Parliamentary Private Secretary

## Reception

The reshuffle was described as "problematic". Journalist Anne Perkins wrote in favour of scrapping cabinet reshuffles.