Defra’s ministerial team has remained the same, following Theresa May’s reshuffle in the wake of last week’s General Election.

The reshuffle saw former Secretary of State for the Environment Andrea Leadsom replaced by fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove, who had been without a cabinet post since he put himself forward for leadership of the Conservative party after David Cameron’s resignation last year; Gove had previously backed former London Mayor Boris Johnson’s leadership bid, but threw his own hat into the ring just hours after Johnson launched his official campaign.

On Wednesday (14th June) Defra confirmed that ministers Therese Coffey (MP for Suffolk Coastal, who has predominantly dealt with waste and recycling), George Eustice (MP for Camborne and Redruth who has headed up the farming brief) and Lord Gardiner of Kimble will remain at the department.

Farming Minister George Eustice also campaigned for Brexit, promising farmers that subsidy payments would “at least” be maintained by an independent UK government in the run up to last year’s vote, only to famously backtrack less than a month after the Brexit vote passed, telling BBC reporters at the Royal Welsh Show that he couldn’t “guarantee exactly the same amount of money” for farmers.