Yesterday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson demoted his Foreign Secretary in a major reshuffle, removing his most criticized colleagues to refocus the government on raising living standards after covid-19.

After months of criticism from several of his top teams for missteps and blunders, Johnson has finally launched a process that some say he wanted to do several weeks earlier, to make the changes he feels he needs to pursue with his “upgrade” program.

Johnson made tackling regional inequalities a priority, as part of an agenda set in 2019 when he won the Conservative Party’s largest parliamentary majority since Margaret Thatcher, but who was overshadowed by the Covid pandemic -19.

Dominic Raab, who has faced calls for resignation since going on vacation to Crete as the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital, Kabul, has lost one of the so-called great state functions in the country. Ministry of Foreign Affairs to become Minister of Justice.

To soften the blow, Raab was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister, a role he played across the board when stepping in to lead the government when Johnson was fighting for his life in hospital with Covid Last year.

Liz Truss was promoted from Commerce to the Foreign Office, becoming the second woman to hold the post in Britain. Michael Gove, seen as a key player in the Johnson government, has been moved to housing from his post in the government cabinet, a department at the center of government that drives the implementation of the policy.

Raab and Gove’s decisions followed the sacking of three others: Gavin Williamson as Minister of Education, Robert Buckland as Minister of Justice and Robert Jenrick as Minister of Housing.

Critics accused Johnson of choosing Wednesday to eclipse the opposition Labor Party’s planned vote in parliament on the government’s decision to cut additional support for low-income families. But some Conservative lawmakers have said it has simply been done for a long time.