British Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled his new Cabinet on Monday after an unexpected election victory that gave his Conservative party a narrow majority in Parliament for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Cameron named the mayor of London and potential leadership contender Boris Johnson, known for his bumbling image and mop-top hairstyle, to a senior political role but not a ministerial position.

"As promised, he will devote his attention to his final year as mayor of London," Cameron said.

Many ministers from the previous government held on to their jobs, including Finance Minister George Osborne, another potential leader who was promoted to a post as Cameron's No 2 in government.

Theresa May has been reappointed as home secretary, and several women were promoted to more junior positions, after Cameron promised that a third of his Cabinet would be made up of women.

Cameron also held talks with Conservative backbenchers amid concern that right-wingers in his party could play a disruptive role for the government, particularly over Britain's EU membership.

The British leader was expected to tell the influential 1922 Committee of backbenchers that his new five-year term will be about renewal, compared to a first term focused on "repair and recovery" to get the country out of a painful recession.

With the exception of nationalists in Scotland, the election left Britain's opposition in disarray, following Friday's resignations of Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat chief Nick Clegg.

Cameron has promised to hold an EU membership referendum by the end of 2017 and to eliminate Britain's budget deficit of about 90 billion pounds ($139 billion) by 2019.

(China Daily 05/12/2015 page12)