James Cleverly appointed third education secretary in two days

Cleverly is one of the first cabinet ministers to be appointed today, after more than 50 government resignations over the last couple of days, including that of Michelle Donelan - the education secretary who resigned this morning after just 35 hours in the job.

Donelan resigned early this morning, prior to the announcement that Boris Johnson will resign today as Conservative leader. It is unclear as yet when he will step down as prime minister.

Currently there are almost no other ministers in the Department for Education, following three ministerial resignations yesterday -  children and families minister Will Quince, schools minister Robin Walker, and skills minister Alex Burghart. The only remaining minister is Baroness Barran.

It is not yet known who will replace them, although Johnson is said to be appointing a cabinet today.

Cleverly was elected the MP for Braintree in 2015, and since 2019 has served in the Department for Exiting in the EU and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

He was also the deputy chairman of the Conservative party from 2018 to 2019. In a statement following his appointment today, Cleverly said, 'As someone whose grandfather was a teacher and whose children are currently in the education system, I am incredibly passionate about education and proud to be appointed Secretary of State.

'From childcare and exams results, to our Schools White Paper, T Levels and the rest of our revolutionary skills agenda, we have a huge amount of work to do and I am looking forward to getting on with the job. That means ensuring children, young people and their families continue to be supported – they have my full commitment.

'I look forward to engaging with our brilliant nurseries, social workers, schools, colleges, universities and all the staff working across these sectors to realise people’s potential - whatever their backgrounds or wherever they come from.'

Cleverly is the eighth education secretary since 2014, when Michael Gove left after four years in the post.

Commenting on the appointment, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said, 'We welcome the appointment of James Cleverly to the post of Education Secretary. As the eighth Secretary of State for Education since 2014, and the third since Tuesday, we hope that he will immediately address the issues that are vital to young children and the teaching profession.   

'The causes of the alarming teacher recruitment and retention crisis such as real-terms cuts to pay, excessive workload and the damaging impact of Ofsted, must be resolved. Schools are also seeing serious problems with support staff retention because of poor pay. 

'The Schools Bill which is currently making its way through Parliament needs urgent reform to be of any relevance to schools. Instead of repeating the mistakes of previous Education Secretaries, James Cleverly, even as a caretaker Education Secretary, must listen to the profession, parents and students.  

'On pay the Secretary of State will very soon need to look at the latest report of the School Teachers' Review Body on pay and award an inflation-plus rise for all teachers. Anything less than that would be a failure. Nor is it a decision that can be delayed; summer term ends shortly, and school leaders must be in knowledge of the pay rise and any additional funding in order to plan their budget for next year.'