Theresa May looks to reassert her authority

KENT: File photo shows the Ashford Valley Fox Hunt being applauded as they set off in Tenderten, Kent, south west England. British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday she will ditch an election pledge for a vote on reversing the fox-hunting ban following a public backlash.— AFP

LONDON: Britain's government is to undergo a reshuffle today as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to reassert her authority following a string of high-profile departures, according to MPs. Deputy prime minister Damian Green is set to be replaced after stepping down last month over a pornography scandal, following on from the departures of ministers Michael Fallon and Priti Patel embroiled in separate controversies.

"Damian Green's departure before Christmas means that some changes do have to be made, and I will be making some changes," May told BBC's Andrew Marr Show yesterday. A Labor MP who wished to remain anonymous said that the reshuffle would take place on Monday, having received confirmation from Conservative colleagues. May's Downing Street office also said that widespread reports that cabinet ministers would discover their fate on Monday were not inaccurate. Green's resignation came as part of a broader scandal over sexual harassment at Westminster, which prompted defense minister Fallon's departure in November.

His resignation was followed a week later by that of Patel, Britain's overseas aid minister, who stepped down over unauthorized meetings in Israel. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is believed to be in line to take over Green's role, while the Sunday Telegraph reported that education minister Justine Greening was facing the sack. Leading figures such as foreign minister Boris Johnson, finance minister Philip Hammond and Brexit Secretary David Davis are expected to stay in their roles. Justice minister Dominic Raab, an ardent Brexit supporter, is reported to be in line for a top job, while May is also predicted to promote more women and racially diverse members.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister said yesterday she will ditch an election pledge for a vote on reversing the fox-hunting ban following a public backlash. "On this issue of fox hunting, what I can say is that there won't be a vote during this parliament," she told BBC's Andrew Marr Show. "I've never fox hunted, but I've not changed my view on that," added May, who is a supporter of the sport. "But as prime minister my job isn't just about what I think about something, it's actually about looking at what the view of the country is, I think there was a clear message about that." The manifesto of May's Conservative Party for last year's general election contained a pledge to hold a free vote on overturning the 2004 law banning the use of dogs to hunt foxes and other wild mammals in England and Wales.

The opposition Labor Party focused heavily on the issue during campaigning, helping it to score a shock upset in depriving May of her majority. The subject received extra attention on December 26, Boxing Day, when hundreds of British hunting groups met across the country on the busiest day in the hunting calendar. Britain still allows trail hunts, which let packs follow a route rather than an animal, and drag hunting, in which hounds track artificial scents.

Critics argue that dogs still chase and kill live animals on these hunts, with organizers claiming the kills are accidental. Hunters claim they comply with the law. The U-turn is likely to anger parts of May's rural base, who see the ban as an imposition of urban values on their way of life. Ann Mallalieu, president of the Countryside Alliance-a rural life lobby group which claims to have around 100,000 supporters-wrote in the Daily Telegraph last month that some lawmakers had admitted their opposition to fox hunting was an element of "class warfare". But Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn has called the sport "cruel and barbaric".- Agencies