New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss Appoints Michelle Donelan as Culture Secretary
K.J. Yossman New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has appointed Michelle Donelan as the new secretary of state for culture. Donelan replaces Nadine Dorries, who resigned from the post on Tuesday morning. Dorries, a former actor and romance novelist who was appointed by former premier Boris Johnson, said Truss had asked her to stay on as culture secretary but declined the offer. She had been in the post less than a year. Donelan, who has previously served as minister for higher education and secretary for education, will now be responsible for the department of digital, culture, media and sports. Among the top items for consideration will be whether to go ahead with privatizing Channel 4, which both Johnson and Dorries had committed to despite industry-wide criticism of the move, as well as reviewing the BBC’s license fee. As well as freezing the license fee, which is a mandatory levy for anyone who watches live television on any network or device, Dorries had indicated she hoped to eventually do away with it altogether.