Whips Out and Rees-Mogg Made Brexit Dividend Minister in BoJo Mini-Reshuffle

In a reshuffle in London, MP Mark Spencer, chief whip of the Conservative Party, has been appointed the new leader of the House of Commons, while adamant Brexit supporter Jacob Rees-Mogg was appointed Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, the UK Cabinet announced on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a clear-out of the Whip's office following recent calls for his resignation by some backbenchers.

Chief Whip Mark Spencer and his deputy Stuart Andrew were moved sideways to new posts at Downing Street in a mini-reshuffle on Tuesday afternoon.

"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP to be a Minister of State (Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency) in the Cabinet Office. He will be a member of the Cabinet. The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP to be Lord President and Leader of the House of Commons. He will attend Cabinet", an official statement on the government website read.

Rees-Mogg, who has been the leader of the House of Commons since July 2019, is Member of Parliament for North East Somerset. He is a leading supporter of Brexit and a self-described "One Nation Conservative" — referring to the reformist current begun by 19th-century PM Benjamin Disraeli.

Spencer takes Ress-Mogg's old job as Leader of the House, the official who announces the government's agenda in Parliament.

He was recently in the spotlight after Tory MP Nusrat Ghani claimed she lost her job as a junior minister in the 2020 reshuffle because of her "Muslim-ness". Spencer identified himself as the whip who Ghani spoke to, but denied her accusation.

The game of musical chairs at Downing Street continued as Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey in West Yorkshire, got the job of junior minister for housing in Michael Gove's department for Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Spencer was replaced as chef whip by Daventry MP Chris Heaton-Harris, currently serving as Europe minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office under Liz Truss.

And Paymaster General Michael Ellis will also take on the job of Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Around 15 Tory backbenchers have broken ranks in recent weeks to call for Johnson's resignation over the 'Partygate' scandal of alleged merry-making by Downing Street staff during the first and second COVID-19 lockdowns.

Number 10 Policy Unit director Munira Mirza quit last week, claiming she could not go on after Johnson's "attack" on opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer's failure to prosecute alleged celebrity child abuser Jimmy Savile during his time as director of public prosecutions.

Her resignation coincided with the planned departure of two other senior Downing Street staff, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield and communications director Jack Doyle.

They were replaced by junior minister Steven Barclay and Guto Harri, Johnson's former press batter at London City Hall.