Theresa May insisted on Sunday that she remained on course to be a long-term British prime minister as she prepared to reshuffle her cabinet following the sacking last month of one of her closest allies.
Mrs May said that she was “not a quitter” and intended to lead her party into the next national elections despite a series of high-level ministerial departures and a difficult first round of Brexit talks with the European Union.
The prime minister said she would “soon” be making changes to her ministerial team with her leadership strengthened after striking an interim deal with the European Union in December. The deal is a first step towards discussing a new trade relationship with the EU when Britain leaves the 28-nation trading bloc as expected in March 2019.
Boris Johnson, the flamboyant but gaffe-prone foreign secretary, was expected to keep his job after the reshuffle, according to newspaper reports on Sunday, along with her finance minister, Philip Hammond, and Brexit supremo David Davis.
The changes were expected to be focused on lower-tier cabinet members to be ousted in favour of a group of younger women and non-white MPs to better reflect modern Britain, according to the Sunday Times.
One of those tipped to lose her job in the cabinet was Andrea Leadsom, a staunch Brexiteer who fought against Mrs May in the ruling Conservative party’s leadership battle in 2016.
The reshuffle was expected following the departure of Damian Green, her effective deputy, in December. Mr Green was sacked after he made misleading statements about what he knew about pornography found on his office computer in 2008.
“There are no prizes for guessing Damian Green’s departure means some changes needed to be made and I will be making some changes,” she told the BBC.
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Read more:
Theresa May's deputy resigns over scandal
EU leaders back decision on Brexit talks
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Mrs May’s disastrous decision to call national elections in 2017 to strengthen her hand before Brexit talks wiped out her party’s small majority and left her reliant on a small Northern Irish party to pass legislation. The electoral disaster raised doubts that she would be able to reach the end of 2017 in charge of her party.
But her fortunes have been revived by the deal struck with the EU and likely challengers have stepped into line behind her before the crucial second phase of Brexit talks scheduled to start in March. She said that she wanted to fight the next election as leader of her party.
“I am not a quitter, I am in this for the long-term,” she said in the interview broadcast on Sunday. “I have said I will serve as long as people want me to serve.”
Mr Johnson – seen as a potential challenger to Mrs May – was tipped to keep his job despite calls for him to be sacked over comments he made to MPs about a British-Iranian national imprisoned in Iran.
The family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe insisted that she was in Iran to visit her family when she was arrested, but Mr Johnson indicated that she could have been involved in training journalists, a statement seized on by the Iranian authorities to justify her detention. Mr Johnson later apologised.
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
