(REPOST: Solar Power Portal)
And so, as the country continues to wait for the formation of a government and a Queen’s speech, signs of life start to emerge in Whitehall. The Westminster wheels are beginning to turn once more and Theresa May’s reshuffle is gathering pace.
Greg Clark has, like many other so-called Conservative big guns, stayed the course and will remain in the hot seat at BEIS. Having spent much of the last year piloting a Brexit-proof industrial strategy, Clark will be given every opportunity to see this through.
The same cannot be said for the likes of Nick Hurd and Jesse Norman, the respective climate change minister and under-secretary for energy until parliament was prorogued in April. The duo, both re-elected last week, have been parachuted into other departments. Norman will serve at the Department of Transport while Hurd’s capable hands will be tasked with the policing and fire brief at the home office.
The ministerial merry-go-round continues at pace. In their footsteps follow Claire Perry and Richard Harrington. While precise briefs for the pair have yet to be decided – or at least publicised – as direct replacements it stands to reason that they will pick up the mantles left by Hurd and Norman. Lord Prior of Brampton too has no such appointed brief which suggests he may also end up with new areas of interest by the time May starts to read from the parchment paper next Wednesday.