The government has appointed two new ministers to the Department for Education today following the resignations earlier this week.
Former teacher Brendan Clarke-Smith and former music tutor Andrea Jenkyns have both been appointed to the role of parliamentary under-secretary of state at Sanctuary Buildings.
This follows an unprecedented week of turmoil which saw the DfE left with four ministerial vacancies after the resignations and reshuffle within Boris Johnson’s crisis-hit government.
Both MPs were among the group of Conservatives who were in Downing Street yesterday to give their support to the prime minister as he announced that he would be standing down.
Mr Clarke-Smith was elected in 2019 and is the MP for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire.
During his teaching career, he worked in the UK as well as in Sweden, Norway and Romania, where he was head of an international school.
Former teacher gets minister job at DfE
Until March, he served on the Commons Education Select Committee, which scrutinises DfE policy.
Mr Clarke-Smith has strongly supported Boris Johnson. On the day of the recent confidence vote on the prime minister, he posted on social media to say: “I have no interest in massaging egos and participating in one of the most ridiculous acts of self-harm I have witnessed in a long time. I will be supporting our prime minister 100 per cent.
“He is a winner and represents the will of the British public far better than his critics ever will.”
This morning Mr Clarke-Smith said that Mr Johnson could be “immensely proud of what he has achieved” in office.
Ms Jenkyns was elected as the Morley and Outwood MP in 2015, defeating the then shadow chancellor Ed Balls.
She has been the deputy chairwoman of the European Research Group since 2019.
Yesterday James Cleverly became the third education secretary in the space of as many days following the resignation of Michelle Donelan, who was only appointed on Tuesday.
Will Quince resigned from his role as children’s minister on Wednesday and was followed soon after by schools minister Robin Walker.
But last night Mr Quince returned to the DfE.
