New ministers join DfT in Cabinet reshuffle

Guy Opperman

Guy Opperman

Anthony Browne

Anthony Browne

Two new junior transport minister have been appointed as part of Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle on 13 November. MP for Hexham Guy Opperman joins from the Department for Work and Pensions minister, along with MP for South Cambridgeshire Anthony Browne.

Opperman has been given active travel as part of his remit while Browne has been given the public transport and roads brief.

Roads and local transport parliamentary under secretary Richard Holden, who joined the DfT in October 2022, has become minister without portfolio, chair of the Conservative Party, while Jesse Norman has resigned as minister for decarbonisation and technology.

Jesse Norman spent three spells at the DfT. He became parliamentary under secretary of state for the DfT in June 2017, and was a transport minister between November 2018 and May 2019. And he was again appointed a transport minister in November 2022 as part of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle.

Norman tweeted: “Having laid the ZEV [zero-emission vehicles] mandate and framed the Automated Vehicles Bill, this is the right time to step down.”

His move came on the same day as a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which saw former Prime Minister David Cameron brought back in as Foreign Secretary, with James Cleverly moved over to replace sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Responding to Norman’s announcement, the charity Cycling UK said: “We’re sorry to hear Jesse Norman will no longer be championing cycling as part of the Government.

“Jesse has overseen significant changes in the Government’s cycling policy – both the past highs and the recent lows. While delivering current policy has been compromised by recent funding cuts, his commitment to cycling has never been in doubt.

“On behalf of everyone at Cycling UK, I’d like to thank him for his work and we hope he’ll continue to be a strong champion for cycling from the backbenches.”