The Tory leader appointed Esther McVey, the MP for Tatton, to the role, which has now been dubbed the ‘minister for woke’.
Following the sacking of Suella Braverman in yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle, Rishi Sunak has tried to reach out to the infuriated Tory right by appointing a ‘common sense tsar’, tasked with leading the government’s anti-woke agenda.
The Tory leader appointed Esther McVey, the MP for Tatton, to the role, which has now been dubbed the ‘minister for woke’.
McVey, whose official title is minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office, will be tasked with campaigning on culture war issues.
McVey’s appointment signals that Sunak is still interested in culture war issues and fanning the flames of division, despite his decision to bring David Cameron back into government which was seen by some as a move to return his party to the ‘centre ground’.
Even right-wing Tory MP and arch Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the move to appoint a ‘minister for woke’ was ridiculous. He said: “I welcome Esther’s return because I think she’s highly capable and a good presenter of the Tory cause.
“I think having a minister for woke is silly and I think it’s deeply regrettable that a minister of the calibre and quality of Jeremy Quinn, who was in the Cabinet Office, has been lost to the government and they brought in somebody with a silly title.
“I think it’s an extraordinary thing to do and is not serious, but Esther is a very good person and to have her in the cabinet is a good thing.
“I think silly titles for government posts is a Blairite thing. That is not the proper business of government. This is ridiculously tokenistic, won’t impress anybody.”
The appointment of a ‘minister for woke’ was also mocked online.
Labour’s Chris Bryant posted on X: “I wonder what parliamentary question one can ask a minister for woke?”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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