Oxfordshire MP promoted in Rishi Sunak's mini reshuffle

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has decided to give Wantage MP David Johnston a position in his cabinet after he appointed MP Claire Coutinho as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Mr Johnston will now serve as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education.

READ MORE: Minister hails childcare investment in Didcot visit

Mr Johnston has previous experience in government (Image: Ed Halford)

He has served as Wantage’s MP since 2019 but he cut his previous time in government short when he decided to resign on July 6 last year as the parliamentary private secretary at the Department for Education.

His resignation followed the resignations of Mr Sunak and MP Sajid Javid and was in response to former prime minister Boris Johnson’s conduct during the Chris Pincher Scandal.

The MP has experience with parliamentary business relating to education, as he served on the Education Select Committee between 2020 and 2021.

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Mr Johnston recently met minister Claire Coutinho during a visit to a Didcot nursery, where she set out the government's new plans for childcare (Image: Ed Halford)

Before going into politics, Mr Johnston was the chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation and his work there led to him being awarded an OBE in 2018 as recognition of his services to “social mobility and education”.

Mr Johnston has recently been campaigning for an improved dental provision in his constituency after Walker & Associates Dental & Implant Clinic in Faringdon stopped offering NHS services.

Mr Johnston has been approached for comment.