2020 British cabinet reshuffle

Following the December 2019 general election, there was considerable speculation that Johnson was planning a major reshuffle of the Cabinet, to take place after the United Kingdom's official withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020.

[5][6] After the Conservative Party's victory in the 2019 general election, Johnson's only change had been to fill the position left vacant by Alun Cairns' resignation in the previous month.

[12] Smith had been widely seen as instrumental in securing a cross-party deal to restore the Northern Ireland Executive, the New Decade, New Approach agreement, after three years without a devolved government in Stormont.

[17] Stephen Bush, political editor of the New Statesman, speculated that the consequence of Johnson's removal of Smith would be the destabilisation of the new power-sharing agreement and increased difficulty in negotiating the details of the "New Protocol".

[20] However, in the weeks leading up to the reshuffle, a number of briefings in the press had suggested that a new economic ministry led by Rishi Sunak might be established, to reduce the power and political influence of the Treasury.

Robert Shrimsley, chief political commentator of the Financial Times, warned that the Prime Minister's handling of his relationship with Javid could damage the government.