Prime minister Rishi Sunak has revealed Steve Barclay as the UK’s new Defra secretary following Thérèse Coffey’s resignation from the post earlier today (13 November).
In a move coinciding with the Conservative prime minister’s cabinet reshuffle, the now-former environment, food and rural affairs secretary announced her intention to step down from the role.
Taking to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Coffey disclosed in a letter that she now considered it “the right time to step back from government”.
Her Defra successor, Barclay, the previous health secretary, is expected to take over Coffey’s governmental mission and aims within the food sector.
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Mentioning in her resignation letter the importance of a sustainable farming and food sector, Coffey alluded to the party continuing her work on “strengthening our farming and fishing sector” by “listening to farmers and making changes”.
Yet Coffey’s stint as Defra chief has not been without controversy.
The Suffolk Coastal MP famously came head to head with farmers earlier this year over her refusal to acknowledge that the UK faced a food supply crisis.
She was accused of being dismissive when she responded to questions about shortage of vegetables that led to many supermarkets introducing buying restrictions on certain categories by saying “we can’t control the weather in Spain”.
During Coffey’s leadership, the government has also delayed plans for the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), until after the 2024 election, and is facing legal challenges after scrapping mandatory food waste reporting.
Coffey’s Defra replacement, Barclay, has already created his own controversy over his stance on governmental HFFS measures.
Earlier this year, the North East Cambridgeshire MP supported the delay of further regulations around buy-one-get-one-free junk food promotional deals.
I have written to the Prime Minister today to step down from government. It has been a privilege to serve him and indeed 5 Conservative Prime Ministers as a minister. I look forward to continuing to serve my constituents of Suffolk Coastal https://t.co/Vas2YDoYh2 pic.twitter.com/gvEtKrB77B
— Thérèse Coffey (@theresecoffey) November 13, 2023
