Theresa May’s government now has nineteen unfilled positions, as Tory party tensions over Brexit reach boiling point.
Work and pensions minister Justin Tomlinson was forced to stand-in last-minute at Wales questions in the Commons on Wednesday, after Nigel Adams quit the government over the PM’s decision to hold Brexit talks with Jeremy Corbyn.
The Wales minister – who also resigned as an assistant government whip – accused May of pursuing a new Brexit plan “cooked up with a Marxist”, warning that the prime minister was “failing” to deliver the Brexit people voted for.
Just hours later, Brexit minister Chris Heaton-Harris also stood down, arguing that the government should have “honoured the result of the 2016 referendum” and taken the UK out of the EU on March 29.
The decision by the pair to resign brings the total number of ministers who have quit under May to 30 – and means there are currently 19 government vacancies waiting to be filled, according to Institute for Government data.
Among those is the role of minister for disabled people, which has been empty for three weeks, since Sarah Newton resigned after breaking the Conservative Party whip to vote to block a no-deal Brexit altogether.
On Wednesday, shadow minister for disabled people Marsha de Cordova wrote to May to urge the prime minister to fill the position “immediately”.
“It is shameful that ill and disabled people are being forced to wait for a new minister to be appointed whilst the government is consumed by a Brexit crisis of its own making,” the Labour MP said.
De Cordova added: “It is of crucial importance that disabled people are able to hold this government to account for the injustices they face.”
Following the resignations of Steve Brine, Alistair Burt and Richard Harrington last week to back an amendment calling for parliament to take charge of the Brexit process, the positions of health minister, international development minister, minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa and parliamentary under-secretary for business and industry are also unfilled.
Meanwhile, there are 11 vacancies for parliamentary private secretaries – MPs who act as assistants for government ministers – some of which were last staffed in November 2018.
Institute for Government data suggests 22 ministers have resigned over policy or political disagreements since May became prime minister in July 2016 – more than four times the amount seen in Margaret Thatcher’s 11 year premiership.
Ahead of Heaton-Harris’ resignation, a spokesman for No.10 Downing Street confirmed that the number of ministerial vacancies stood at five.
“We will seek to make reappointments as quickly as we can. There has been a certain amount of attention focused on the disabilities minister,” they said.
“Those important functions have been temporarily assumed by the secretary of state, who I think has done some important work with disability stakeholders just this week in that capacity. Our commitments to disabled people continue to be upheld and furthered.”