Liz Truss’ closest ally Therese Coffey has denied that her function as Deputy Prime Minister meant she was solely a part-time Well being Secretary.
Ms Coffey has her personal workplace in No 10 and performs a key function on the coronary heart of the brand new Prime Minister’s administration.
However she insisted the NHS plan being set out on Thursday confirmed she was targeted on her job as Well being and Social Care Secretary.
Ms Coffey has an workplace in Downing Road beforehand utilized by the No 10 director of communications, in an indication of how intently she is working with Ms Truss.
“What we’re doing is working collectively in order that the Prime Minister has at hand the one who’s accountable for the cash, that’s the Chancellor, but additionally the Chief Whip, and certainly me as Deputy Prime Minister,” she informed ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
Ms Coffey stated she “might be chairing issues just like the Dwelling Affairs Committee and totally different parts like that” inside Authorities.
“I’m right here to assist the Prime Minister ship on what she got down to the Conservative Celebration membership and to the nation throughout the summer time.”
Good Morning Britain presenter and former Labour cupboard minister Ed Balls stated he had turned down an analogous twin function below Gordon Brown as a result of he wished to give attention to his then job as youngsters’s secretary.
Requested if it was doable to do each of her jobs correctly, she informed him: “I’m aware that in two weeks we’ve already pulled collectively our plan for sufferers and we are going to proceed to develop that.”
She added: “I don’t suppose will probably be a case of being part-time… We don’t have fastened working hours.
“We proceed to do what we do proper throughout Authorities so as to ensure we operate successfully as a Authorities and I’m trying ahead to being a part of that.”