Liz Truss will wield the axe if she becomes prime minister and cull a number of big Tory names from the cabinet – including home secretary Priti Patel, it has been reported.
The Tory leadership favourite will also banish Dominic Raab, the current deputy prime minister, along with health secretary Steve Barclay, George Eustice, the environment secretary, and Mark Spencer, the leader of the House of Commons, according to The Telegraph.
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has been competing with Ms Truss in a bad-tempered rivalry to replace Boris Johnson, will also not be invited into her new cabinet, the newspaper reported.
Michael Gove announced he was quitting frontline politics last week, but was also reportedly going to be exiled to the backbenches.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps, a Johnson loyalist and supporter of Mr Sunak, faces a nervous wait to find out if he keeps his job.
Ms Truss will replace the 15 ministers expected to be ditched from the front bench with loyalists and rising stars such as Kemi Badenoch if she is able to beat her rival Mr Sunak in the race to No 10 in September.
Liz Truss is planning on wielding the axe if she wins the leadership race
(PA)
The home secretary will reportedly be replaced by Suella Braverman, but sources close to Ms Patel are holding out hope she still may be able to keep her role.
An ally of Ms Patel told The Telegraph: “She wants to stay at the Home Office and at the moment she isn’t really interested in another role, because she wants to finish the work she started.
“This is going to be a government that will be fighting battles on all fronts and it needs people who can put out fires elsewhere so it can concentrate on the economy and the cost of living crisis.
“Priti Patel’s political skills should not be underestimated and there should be room for her in the next cabinet.”
Whoever does take a job in the new cabinet faces a baptism of fire as the country faces a devastating cost of living crisis, looming recession, skyrocketing inflation and ongoing problems as a result of Brexit.