David Cameron has been appointed Foreign Secretary in Rishi Sunak's government as part of a cabinet reshuffle despite not being an elected politician.
He stood down as the MP for Witney back in September 2016, just a couple of months after he had resigned as Prime Minister.
The cabinet reshuffle was sparked by the sacking of Suella Braverman, who has been replaced by James Cleverly.
Mrs Braverman had recently come under fire following her unauthorised article criticising the way pro-Palestinian protests had been policed and comments made about restricting the use of tents for homeless people.
The Rt Hon @David_Cameron has been appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs @FCDOGovUK pic.twitter.com/r9fL9dIgzs
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) November 13, 2023
Since her sacking this morning (Monday, November 13) there have been further resignations and a few politicians being moved about in key positions.
Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden criticised the appointment of Cameron and said: “A few weeks ago Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status quo, now he’s bringing him back as his life raft.
“This puts to bed the Prime Minister’s laughable claim to offer change from 13 years of Tory failure.”
Can you be a minister without being an MP?
The UK's unwritten constitution does not dictate that a person needs to be an MP to take up the post of a minister, iNews reports.
However, the ministerial code does say that you need to be in the House of Lords or the House of Commons to take up such a position.
In recent years such ministers have been appointed to the House of Lords in order for them to be accountable to parliament, Sky News reports.
Therefore, Mr Cameron could be made a peer in order to fulfil the convention.
It can take several weeks from the time a potential new member is announced before their actual appointment in the House of Lords.
A title has to be agreed and legal documents must be prepared including Letters Patent and Writ of Summons.
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