Gavin Williamson appointed education secretary

Gavin Williamson has been appointed as education secretary by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The former defence secretary replaces Damien Hinds in a cabinet reshuffle that saw more than half of the members of Theresa May’s cabinet lose their jobs.

Mr Hinds held the role for 18 months and will now return to the backbenches as Mr Williamson becomes the fifth education secretary in the last five years.

Before becoming defence secretary in November 2017, Mr Williamson held the position of chief whip under Theresa May. He has been the MP for South Staffordshire since 2010.

The MP went to Raincliffe Comprehensive School in Scarborough in North Yorkshire, and then Scarborough Sixth Form College before attending the University of Bradford to study social sciences.

In May this year he was sacked from the position of defence secretary for allegedly leaking details of a high-level National Security Council meeting in which the role of Huawei in Britain’s 5G network was discussed. 

Absolutely honoured to be appointed Secretary of State for Education by our new Prime Minister @BorisJohnson. Very much looking forward to working with the fantastic team at @educationgovuk

— Gavin Williamson MP (@GavinWilliamson) July 24, 2019

Following his sacking, Mr Williamson denied being the source of the leak and refused to resign. This led former Prime Minister Theresa May to fire him.

The newly appointed education secretary will have to decide how to respond to the proposals set out in the Augar review of post-18 education published earlier this year.

Recommendations in the report included reducing tuition fees in England from £9,250 to £7,500 a year, increasing the time period of loan repayment by 10 years and directing more funding towards further education (FE).

Outside of higher and further education, Mr Williamson also faces pressures regarding school funding and teacher recruitment.

Joint general secretary of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, said that predecessors had “failed to make any serious progress on these issues” and the new minister “must hit the ground running”.

He also takes on the role amid ongoing protests over same-sex relationships education in primary schools.

New Education Secretary @GavinWilliamson is welcomed to DfE by Jonathan Slater @PermSecDfE pic.twitter.com/JRUgagNJkR

— DfE (@educationgovuk) July 24, 2019

According to Parliamentary analysis website TheyWorkForYou, Mr Williams has “almost always” voted against equal gay rights. He has also “generally” voted against allowing marriage between two people of the same sex.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union said that one of the priorities for Mr Williamson should be giving “clear backing for all schools regarding diversity and equality”.

In his speech after becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson highlighted the importance of universities and scientific research and said his government would ensure that every child would get a “superb education, wherever they are in the country”.

Other appointments in Mr Johnson’s new cabinet include Sajid Javid as chancellor, Dominic Raab as foreign secretary and Priti Patel as home secretary.

Theresa Villiers became the new environment secretary while Ben Wallace takes on the role of defence secretary and Andrea Leadsom was appointed business secretary.

Those who retained their posts include Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay, work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd and health secretary Matt Hancock.

The Prime Minister is to hold his first meeting with the newly formed cabinet in the morning of 25 July.