Grant Shapps has had five Cabinet jobs in less than a year - why is he so popular with prime ministers?

Less than a month into his job as Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps is already making headlines.

The Tory MP has been doing the government’s weekend media rounds today (24 September), appearing on both Sky News and BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - although Kuenssberg was replaced by Victoria Derbyshire this morning in a last-minute substitution.

Shapps, who used to be the Transport Secretary, addressed the speculation over HS2 - arguing that the government could not write an “open-ended cheque” for the project and saying it would be “irresponsible” to keep spending money on the new railway if costs continue to rise.

He also gave his opinion on the reports that Rishi Sunak is considering an inheritance tax cut, remarking that the levy - which is placed on estates worth more than £325,000 - is “punitive” and “unfair”.

The MP’s comments have as a result stirred up some conversation, but this is not something that is particulary new to him. Shapps has spent a fair amount of time in the papers in recent months, as, over the past year, he has served in no less than five ministerial positions.

Although he is currently Defence Secretary, he has tried his hand at transport, energy, business, and even home affairs - flitting from one corner of the Cabinet to another.

But why exactly is Shapps consistently given these senior roles, and why does he change between them so quickly? Here’s what we know about his career.

Grant Shapps’ career timeline

Transport Secretary

Shapps’ first senior role in the government Cabinet was as Transport Secretary. He was appointed to this role in July 2019 by then newly-elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and served until Johnson’s resignation in September 2022.

It is generally acknowledged that during his time in the job, Shapps exercised more influence than many of his predecessors - being responsible for the effective nationalisation of the Northern Trains franchise, the Integrated Rail Plan (which included HS2), and the travel restrictions to and from the UK as a result of Covid-19.

One of his most controversial moments in this role was when the Thomas Cook Group fell into administration, leaving more than 150,000 British tourists in need of repatriation.

When asked why the government chose not to bail out the company, Shapps said: “I fear it would have kept them afloat for a very short period of time and then we would have been back in the position of needing to repatriate people in any case.”

Home Secretary

Shapps was sacked as Transport Secretary when Liz Truss became Prime Minister, and was initially not given any job in the Cabinet after supporting Sunak’s leadership campaign.

However, towards the end of Truss’ short tenure, Shapps was called upon to take on the role of Home Secretary - following Suella Braverman’s resignation for breaching the ministerial code. He was hardly in this job long enough to make any impact, spending just six days in the Home Office.

Business Secretary

When Sunak got hold of the keys to Number 10, Shapps switched lanes and was given a job as Business Secretary. During his time here, he made a blunder which social media was particularly fond of.

In the run up to the Virgin Orbit launch on 9 January 2023, Shapps tweeted excitedly about how “delighted” the government was to be backing the “FIRST ever satellite launch” from Europe. He accompanied the post with an image of himself meeting Virgin Orbit’s CEO Dan Hart at Newquay Spaceport - a photograph which was taken on 9 June 2021.

However, something was missing from the photo. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been at the centre of the original picture, but had been edited out from the newly-posted one.

After this apparent photoshopping was pointed out, Shapps deleted the tweet from his account. An anonymous ally later told the BBC: “Grant wasn’t aware anyone had edited the picture. He removed it as soon as it was pointed out.

“Obviously he wouldn’t endorse anyone rewriting history by removing the former PM from a picture. He was proud to serve in Boris Johnson’s government.”

Energy Secretary

But once again, Shapps wasn’t permitted to stay in this role for long - and made a move to the newly-created portfolio of Energy Secretary following Sunak’s mini Cabinet reshuffle in February.

Many would say he left the role in a somewhat uncertain state when he took up his position as Defence Secretary, amid warnings from the climate watchdog that the UK was drifting off track from its goals. This appears to have become a reality in recent weeks, after Sunak made the controversial decision to abandon or delay some of his key net zero policies.

Defence Secretary

Shapps is currently serving as Defence Secretary.

Why has he been in so many roles?

So, why exactly has Shapps flitted from role to role in Cabinet? It’s a question many people have been asking.

One reason is simply a situational one: new prime ministers change their Cabinets, and so, because the UK saw three people in Number 10 in just four months, a lot of MPs were switching beteeen ministerial positions.

However, some people have been able to stay in their departments, and few have changed as many as five times - so it’s easy to start to think there is more at play.

It wasn’t difficult to understand why Shapps was appointed Transport Secretary, as he had long been an ally of then-PM Boris Johnson and a leader’s preference often seems to be what appointments are based on.

He had something of a mixed reception from the public here, but his colleagues generally regarded him as competent - and at least he had some time to sink his teeth into the department.

His brief appointment to Home Secretary made less sense, and appeared to be more about Liz Truss trying to appeal to all wings of her quickly-crumbling party than having any relevance to his ability.

Shapps’ subsequent move to Business Secretary was perhaps linked to his past experience as a businessman, but his time as Energy Secretary was unconvincing as he didn’t seem to have much passion for the environment.

The MP’s most recent appointment to Defence Secretary however is the one which drew the most discussion. Various Conservative MPs and past military figures voiced concerns about Shapps’ lack of experience in the area - with Richard Dannatt, a former chief of the general staff of the British Army, telling Sky News that while Wallace “understood defence well”, it would be a tricky brief for him.

“Now we have a new Defence Secretary who knows very little about defence – and it’s a complex portfolio, it will take him quite some time to get up to speed,” Lord Dannatt said. He later told BBC Radio 4 that “the big question” remained as to whether Shapps would put his loyalty to Sunak above pushing for the needs of the defence community.

Meanwhile, Mark Francois, a Conservative MP who is a member of the Commons defence committee, said Shapps faced a “very steep learning curve”. He told GB News: “Grant Shapps is a bright bloke but he’s going to have to come up to speed very, very quickly.”

Others told The Guardian privately that they were “underwhelmed” by Shapps, adding that it was “baffling” that other serving and former defence ministers had been passed over, given the important time for the sector amid the war in Ukraine.

However, others argued Shapps was a good choice for the role as he in fact had been relatively involved in the UK’s support for Ukraine since Russia first invaded in February 2022.

As Transport Secretary he was involved in supporting Ukrainian infrastructure in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, and as Energy Secretary, he pushed for diversifying energy supply to reduce dependency on Russia.

The MP also took in a refugee family as part of the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, and briefly served as Chair of the Ukraine All-Party Parliamentary Group.

It will take some time to see whether Shapps makes his mark in the Ministry of Defence, but we are yet to see whether he’ll be given long enough to actually do so. There’s perhaps an argument then that the reason many have become so unsure of Shapps is because he isn’t given a chance to prove himself; but equally, there’s an argument that he is moved around so much because he isn’t making an impact.

The perhaps more convincing view, though, is that Shapps’ various role changes aren’t based on competency or lack thereof at all - and are actually more to do with the way government appointments work. Shapps supported Johnson, and so was given a job. He didn’t back Truss, briefly missed out on the Cabinet, but backed Sunak, and was given a range of senior roles.

While allyship and having people you can trust is important, it’s fair to say that cronyism to a much further extent than is necessary is at the heart of government - and until that changes, the public will likely continue to be somewhat confused by Cabinet appointments, and left wondering about the impact certain ministers have or haven’t made.