Boris Johnson's Cabinet: How Did They Vote On Brexit And Theresa May's Deal?

25 July 2019, 07:26 | Updated: 28 October 2019, 15:53

Boris Johnson's newly-appointed cabinet has been seen as Vote Leave taking back control. But the facts show something very different.

Some hardline Brexiteers such as Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg have been given key roles in the new Prime Minister's team.

But they are actually outnumbered by ministers who voted for Remain. We looked at the make-up of the new team and their views on Brexit.

How many Cabinet members voted for Brexit?

64% of the 22 members of the extended cabinet voted Remain, compared to just 36% who voted for Brexit.

Remain voters: Sajid Javid, Ben Wallace, Matt Hancock, Robert Buckland, Gavin Williamson, Liz Truss, Grant Shapps, Robert Jenrick, Baroness Evans, Alun Cairns, Julian Smith, Alok Sharma, Nicky Morgan, Amber Rudd.

Brexit voters: Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Priti Patel, Stephen Barclay, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Theresa Villiers, Alister Jack.

It's important to note that a number of those who voted Remain have since stated they now support Brexit.

Obviously three of the four top posts have gone to Brexiteers.

How did Boris Johnson's new Cabinet vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal?

With Boris Johnson being such a strong critic of Theresa May's EU Withdrawal Agreement, it had been assumed that he would fill his Cabinet with those who voted against it.

But again, the facts do not actually bear that out.

In Theresa May's first and second votes, only five of the 22 Cabinet members voted against the deal. They were Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and Theresa Villiers.

In the third vote, it was just two of the 22 who voted against it - Patel and Villiers.

How did Boris Johnson's cabinet vote on no-deal Brexit?

Boris Johnson has said that the UK will leave the EU on 31st October, with or without a deal. But his cabinet has not previously backed that option.

In the first indicative vote in parliament, just five voted to accept no-deal: Johnson, Patel, Raab, Shapps and Wallace.

Five voted against no-deal: Buckland, Jack, Jenrick, Morgan and Sharma.

The rest abstained as part of the previous cabinet.

One new cabinet minister voted for a Second Referendum

In those indicative votes, one of the MPs appointed to Boris Johnson's team actually voted for a confirmatory referendum on the Prime Minister's deal.

Robert Jenrick, the new Housing and Communities Secretary, voted in favour, while 11 voted against it.