List of departures from the second May ministry

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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

Colour key
Opposition to government policy on Brexit Due to a breach of the Ministerial Code

	Office	Date of resignation	Reason
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

Colour key
Opposition to government policy on Brexit Due to a breach of the Ministerial Code

	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

Colour key
Opposition to government policy on Brexit Opposition to the incoming Prime Minister

	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.

References

"Ministers". The Institute for Government. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
Political Correspondent, Henry Zeffman (27 March 2019). "Brexit: Struggle to fill seats of power left empty by rebellious MPs". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 April 2019. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
Reid, David (27 March 2019). "Theresa May to resign as UK prime minister should Brexit deal happen". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
"Chief whip Julian Smith attacks ministers for 'worst cabinet ill-discipline in history'". Sky News. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
^ "A Whopping 30 Government Ministers Have Now Resigned Under Theresa May – Here's A List". Huffington Post. 3 April 2019.
PoliticsHome.com (14 June 2017). "Blow for Theresa May as Northern Powerhouse minister quits government". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
"Fallon resigns as Defence Secretary over behaviour claims". BBC News. 1 November 2017.
Laura Hughes; Christopher Hope (5 November 2017). "Tory Whip Chris Pincher refers himself to the police after claim of unwanted pass at former Olympic rower". Daily Telegraph.
"Priti Patel quits over Israel meetings row". BBC News. 8 November 2017.
Greenfield, Patrick (20 December 2017). "Damian Green resigns as first secretary of state after porn allegations". The Guardian.
"James Brokenshire: Northern Ireland Secretary resigns". BBC News. 8 January 2018.
George Parker (8 January 2018). "Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle goes off course". Financial Times.
"Amber Rudd resigns as home secretary". BBC News. 29 April 2018.
Kate Proctor; Peter Walker; Heather Stewart (3 September 2019). "Phillip Lee quits Tories, leaving government without a majority". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
"Greg Hands quits as minister over Heathrow expansion". BBC News. 21 June 2018.
Heather Stewart (9 July 2018). "Brexit secretary David Davis resigns plunging government into crisis". The Guardian.
"UK Brexit department minister Steve Baker resigns: government source". Reuters. 8 July 2018.
Heather Stewart; Pippa Crerar; Dan Sabbagh (9 July 2018). "Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary – Senior Conservative becomes third minister to walk out over Theresa May's Brexit plan". The Guardian.
Sarah Cartlidge (10 July 2018). "Conor Burns stands down from role after Boris Johnson resignation". Bournemouth Daily Echo.
Alex McIntyre (9 July 2018). "Bolton West MP Chris Green quits Department for Transport role over Brexit". Bolton Daily News.
"MP Andrew Griffiths quits ministerial post after 'sex texts' to two barmaids are revealed". Daily Telegraph. 14 July 2018.
Greg Heffer (15 July 2018). "May suffers yet another resignation as Robert Courts quits over her Brexit plan". Sky News.
"Cornwall MP Scott Mann resigns from Government role over Brexit". ITV News. 16 July 2018.
Nicola Bartlett (16 July 2018). "Defence minister Guto Bebb resigns to vote against the Government after Theresa May accepted Brexiteer amendments to customs bill". Daily Mirror.
"Sports Minister Tracey Crouch resigns over 'delay' to betting crackdown". BBC News. 1 November 2018.
"Jo Johnson quits as minister over Theresa May's Brexit plan". The Guardian. 9 November 2018.
Georgia Chambers (15 November 2018). "Shailesh Vara MP: Who is the former Northern Ireland minister and why has he resigned over Theresa May's Brexit deal?". Evening Standard.
Dan Bloom (15 November 2018). "Dominic Raab resigns as Brexit Secretary over Theresa May's deal in crushing blow". Daily Mirror.
Tom Herbert (15 November 2018). "Esther McVey's savage resignation letter in full: It's obvious to everyone Brexit deal doesn't honour referendum". Evening Standard.
Joe Gamp (15 November 2018). "Dominic Raab's under-secretary Suella Braverman resigns as knives out for May". Daily Express.
"Berwick MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan resigns from Government over Brexit deal". ITV News. 15 November 2018.
Kevin Rawlinson; Dan Sabbagh (30 November 2018). "Sam Gyimah resigns over Theresa May's Brexit deal". The Guardian.
ITV News (9 December 2018). "Essex ministerial aide resigns in growing Brexit rebellion". ITV News.
Alex Morales (3 April 2019). "Theresa May's Ministerial Resignations Pile Up at Rate of 1.5 a Month". Bloomberg.
"Tory whip quits government ahead of May's Brexit deal vote". Evening Standard. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
^ Webber, Esther (16 January 2019). "How did your MP vote over May's Brexit deal?". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
correspondent, Lisa O'Carroll Brexit (27 February 2019). "Confusion reigns over Brexit amendment as Tory MP quits post". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2019. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
"Junior minister George Eustice resigns over article 50 vote".
Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor, Henry Zeffman, Political Correspondent | (13 March 2019). "Cabinet revolt over no-deal Brexit vote". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 March 2019. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Chorley, Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor | Matt (14 March 2019). "Brexit chaos: Defiance from cabinet delivers a fresh blow to May's authority". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 14 March 2019. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Sparrow, Andrew (25 March 2019). "MPs back indicative votes by majority of 27 to take control of Brexit process – live news". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
Nigel Adams (3 April 2019). "I've been to Downing Street & resigned my position as UK Govt Minister for Wales & Govt Whip" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Bruno Waterfield, Sam Coates, Oliver Wright, Kate Devlin (3 April 2019). "Nigel Adams resigns over Theresa May's 'grave error' to hold talks with Jeremy Corbyn". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 April 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Sparrow, Andrew (3 April 2019). "Brexit: May faces second ministerial resignation in protest over her refusal to embrace no-deal – live news". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
Michael Bates (23 April 2019). "I have decided to step down from my ministerial role at @DFID_UK but delighted to be succeeded by Baroness Sugg" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
"Gavin Williamson sacked over Huawei leak". 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
^ Laura Hughes (7 May 2019). "Rona Fairhead and Zahida Manzoor quit government". Financial Times.
Sparrow, Andrew; Sparrow, Andrew (22 May 2019). "Andrea Leadsom resigns from the government as May refuses to quit – live news". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
"UK trade envoy quits in protest over no-deal Brexit threatening £800m Canada agreement". The Independent. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
"Minister resigns in protest against Johnson". 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
Sparrow (now), Andrew; Badshah (earlier), Nadeem; Sparrow, Andrew; Mason, Rowena; Stewart, Heather (23 July 2019). "Skills minister Anne Milton resigns ahead of Boris Johnson's expected election as new UK PM – live news". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ Busby (earlier), Andrew Sparrow (now); Mattha (24 July 2019). "May uses last PMQs to tell Corbyn to quit as Johnson prepares to become prime minister – live news". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 July 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Rory Stewart and David Gauke resign ahead of Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister". HeraldScotland. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

Notes

^ Member of the House of Lords
^ One of the 2017 Westminster sexual scandals

v t e Theresa May
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2016–2019) Leader of the Conservative Party (2016–2019) Home Secretary (2010–2016) MP for Maidenhead (1997–2024)
Home Secretary	National Crime Agency Draft Communications Data Bill Investigatory Powers Bill Policing and Crime Bill 2016 Police and crime commissioners Home Office hostile environment policy Operation Yewtree Murder of Jo Cox
Premiership	First ministry Second ministry Conservative–DUP agreement list of resignations 2018 cabinet reshuffle 2018 Conservative Party vote of no confidence International trips Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's tenure as Health Secretary Brexit Article 50 invocation negotiations European Union (Withdrawal) Bill 2019 Chequers plan Irish backstop Brexit withdrawal agreement meaningful vote European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 vote of confidence Windrush scandal Resignation Honours
Politics	Electoral history Conservative Party One-nation conservatism
Elections	2016 (party leadership) 2017 (local) 2017 (general) 2018 (local) 2019 (local) 2019 (European)
Family	Philip May (husband)
Slogans	"Strong and stable" "Brexit means Brexit"
See also	"Running through fields of wheat" St Theresa's Independent State Grammar School for Girls (and Boys) The Abuse of Power
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