London: Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday promoted one of Britain’s most prominent Indian-origin MPs Priti Patel by making her the new employment minister, as he continued to give finishing touches to his first all- Conservative Cabinet.
Patel, who was re-elected from Witham in Essex with a big majority in the May 7 general election, will take charge as the new employment minister of Britain. The 43-year-old replaces another female MP in the Cabinet, Esther McVey, who lost her seat at the polls.
“A real privilege to be appointed as Minister of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions,” Patel said in a Twitter message.
While the London-born mother of one will not be in charge of the Department for Work and Pensions, she has been given a Cabinet rank as a promotion from her previous role as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. It remains to be seen if she will also carry on in her honorary role as the British PM’s Indian Diaspora Champion.
Her appointment reflects Cameron’s plans to shake up the party's old fashioned all-male image and have a significant number of women around the Cabinet table.
