Politics

Awkwardly-timed Harrods van spotted in Downing Street during Boris Johnson's 'People's Cabinet'


Boris Johnson is making sure he strikes a down-to-earth tone after his election landslide.

The Tory leader summoned his ministers this morning to declare them “a People’s Government and a People’s Cabinet.”

Unfortunately for him, his message was ever so slightly undermined by a big green Harrods van driving in to the back gate of Downing Street at exactly the same time.

Aides insisted the mystery delivery from the posh Knightsbridge department store – a byword for luxury – was not for the PM.

They added the delivery at around 10am was for “non-political officials”, and not paid for by any public money.

But the delivery prompted amusement from the Mirror’s Kevin Maguire, who spotted the van and tweeted: “Johnson keeps it real for those Tory Northern seats.”

A Harrods van just so happened to drive in to the back gate of Downing Street at exactly the same time.

Scores of officials work from Downing Street, which also includes government offices in No11 and No9.

Today’s Cabinet meeting was the first since yesterday’s mini-reshuffle and the first since the Tories won an 80-seat majority, taking many northern Labour seats for the first time.

Cabinet ministers thumped the table as Boris Johnson thanked them for their “hard work” and welcomed new Welsh Secretary Simon Hart and Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan.

Today’s Cabinet meeting was the first since the Tories won an 80-seat majority

Despite giving Ms Morgan a peerage to keep her in her old job, he said: “We’re Conservatives – we believe in extending opportunity across the whole of the UK.”

The PM added: “We should have absolutely no embarrassment about saying we are a People’s Government and this is a People’s Cabinet.

“We must recognise that people lent us their votes at this election. It was a quite extraordinary, it was a seismic election, but we need to repay their trust and work 24 hours a day, work flat out, to deliver.”

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, appearing to acknowledge a new day has dawned

Mr Johnson said the last few months were busy but “you ain’t seen nothing yet folks”. He said his “huge huge agenda” would include “addressing every problem from social care to homelessness”.

Panto-style, he encouraged Cabinet ministers to call out the misleading figures that dominated his election campaign – 40 new hospitals, 50,000 more nurses and 20,000 more police.

Housing Minister Esther McVey in Cabinet

But he made an unfortunate slip of the tongue as he opened the first Cabinet meeting of the new government.

He said on camera: “I’m proud to say today, Saj had just passed me some good economic news that unemployment is up again – employment is up again, unemployment is down again.”

Official figures this morning showed unemployment fell by 13,000 to 1.28 million in the three months to October.

Ministers discussed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the Queen’s Speech and the latest Labour market statistics during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, the PM’s spokesman said.

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“The Prime Minister said that the Government has a mandate from the people and we must now deliver for them on priorities such as the NHS,” he told a Westminster briefing.

“The PM said he was determined to keep the promises made to the people who elected us – we will leave the EU by the end of January and unleash the potential of this country.

“Cabinet discussed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the Queen’s Speech and the latest Labour market statistics showing the UK unemployment rate falling to its lowest level since 1974, the employment rate rising to an all-time high and wage growth outpacing inflation for the 21st successive month.”





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