OT minister keeps job in new UK Cabinet

James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East

(CNS): James Duddridge, the Conservative MP for Rochford and Southend East, has retained his job as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which means he also stays put as the overseas territories minister. Duddridge was first appointed to the junior ministerial position in August last year during the coalition administration. 

Despite the many changes UK Prime Minister David Cameron made this week to his Cabinet, having scraped through to an unexpected victory last Thursday in the General Election, Dudderidge gets to stay at the FCO. The overseas territories minister has responsibility for a number of other areas in the FCO, where Philip Hammond also kept his job as Foreign Secretary.

In the first fully Conservative Cabinet for 18 years, Cameron has appointed a number of previous critics in an effort to stem any potential rebellions. With just a wafer thin majority of 12, in order to maintain the stable government that he has promised he will need to ensure all of his 330 MPs toe the line.

Already being described as a “blue collar” Cabinet, the prime minister has talked about down to earth policies and attempts to make the Conservatives “the real party for working people”.  Cameron, who was educated at a private school, has doubled the number of members in his new government who went to comprehensive (government) schools.