1999 British cabinet reshuffle explained

On 27 July 1999, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held his first major cabinet reshuffle of his government.^[1]

Background

It was considered that Health secretary Frank Dobson would stand in the 2000 London mayoral election against Labour-turned-Independent Ken Livingstone.^[2] But he denied accusations of him being moved out of government.^[3]

Mo Mowlam expected to be replaced as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by Peter Mandelson but this did not happen until October 1999.^[4] The reshuffle was anticipated as being the cull of Old Labour and the promotion of Blairites from the 1997 general election.^[5] It was reported that Alastair Campbell, Blair's Press Secretary, had influence over changes at Cabinet level.^[6]

The reshuffle was delayed by a week following Labour's unexpected success in the 1999 Eddisbury by-election.^[7]

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.^[8]

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

1. News: 1999-07-30 . The government team . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
2. News: Watt . Nicholas . Correspondent . Political . 1999-07-05 . Blair will order Dobson to block Livingstone . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
3. News: MacAskill . Ewen . Correspondent . Chief Political . 1999-07-10 . Dobson shakes cabinet truce . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
4. News: Watt . Nicholas . Correspondent . Political . 1999-07-05 . Mowlam expects Blair to move her in reshuffle . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
5. News: Wintour . Patrick . McSmith . Andy . 1999-07-25 . Purge of Labour's old faithful to make way for class of 97 in Cabinet . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
6. News: 1999-07-25 . Smell of fear in Whitehall as reshuffle fever reaches a peak . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
7. News: Ward . Lucy . Correspondent . Political . 1999-07-17 . Mowlam key figure in reshuffle . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.
8. News: MacAskill . Ewen . Correspondent . Chief Political . 1999-07-26 . Simon set to go in Blair reshuffle . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-08-12 . 0261-3077.

Reception

The reshuffle was described as "problematic".^[9] Journalist Anne Perkins wrote in favour of scrapping cabinet reshuffles.^[10]