Wednesday 2 PM
Kemi Badenoch has appointed a number of Shadow Ministers, continuing from the main Shadow Cabinet named yesterday.
Shadow Deputy Chief Whip: Gagan Mohindra MP
Shadow Deputy Chief Whip: Joy Morrissey MP
Shadow Minister of State for Defence: Mark Francois MP
Shadow Minister of State for Justice: Kieran Mullan MP
Shadow Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions: Danny Kruger MP
Shadow Minister of State at the FCDO: Wendy Morton MP
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury: Gareth Davies MP
Shadow Minister of State at Department for Business and Trade: Harriet Baldwin
TUES 5th 11.59am Conservative Home has updated it’s Shadow Cabinet chart:
TUES 5th 9.30am
New Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch has appointed her full Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer: Mel Stride MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs: Dame Priti Patel MP
Shadow Home Secretary: Chris Philp MP
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Alex Burghart MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence: James Cartlidge MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice: Robert Jenrick MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Education: Laura Trott MP
Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary: Ed Argar MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Kevin Hollinrake MP
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Victoria Atkins MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade: Andrew Griffith MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Shadow Minister for Equalities: Claire Coutinho MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: Helen Whately MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport: Gareth Bacon MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport: Stuart Andrew MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology: Alan Mak MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and Shadow Minister of State for Energy and Net Zero: Andrew Bowie MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and Shadow Minister for Women: Mims Davies MP
Opposition Chief Whip (Commons): Dame Rebecca Harris MP
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons: Jesse Norman MP
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords: Lord True
Co-Chairmen of the Party: Nigel Huddleston MP & Lord Johnson
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Richard Fuller MP
Also attending:
Parliamentary Private Secretary: Julia Lopez MP
Kemi Badenoch will host her first Shadow Cabinet meeting as Leader this morning. Later in the week Kemi will appoint the remainder of the team on a rolling basis.
Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, said:
“I am delighted to have appointed my Shadow Cabinet, which draws on the talents of people from across the Conservative Party, based on meritocracy and with a breadth of experience and perspective, just as I promised during the campaign.
“Our party’s problems will only be solved with a team effort, and I am confident my Shadow Cabinet ministers will deliver effective opposition as we seek to win back the trust of the public. We will now get to work holding Labour to account and rebuilding our party based on Conservative principles and values. The process of renewing our great party has now begun.”
Monday 4th 4.40 PM
Mel Stride has been appointed Shadow Chancellor. The former leadership candidate, knocked out of the contest in the second round of voting and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions demonstrated his grasp of the economic arena during the contest. Seen as a close ally of Rishi Sunak his is an appointment that plays to Kemi Badenoch’s pledge to pick a shadow cabinet based not just on her allies, but across the party, and by matching skillsets as her main criteria. He is also an experienced media performer.
Dame Priti Patel has been appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary. Another former leadership candidate, knocked out the contest in the first round and former Home Secretary and International Development Secretary has been indicating she’d be willing to return from two years on the back benches to the front bench. Badenoch had also indicated she wanted the talents of the leadership contenders alongside her if she won, this announcement does just that.
Monday 4th 12:30 PM
Laura Trott has been appointed as the Shadow Education Secretary. Formerly the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and then the equivalent Shadow, she has been the MP for Sevenoaks since 2019, after a prolonged stint as a special advisor to first Francis Maude and then David Cameron. She was a prominent and early backer of Kemi Badenoch during the leadership contest.
Neil O’Brien has been appointed as Shadow Minister for Education. Having backed Badenoch in 2022, he switched to Robert Jenrick this year. He has previously served as Director of Policy Exchange, as a special adviser to George Osborne, and in a variety of ministerial roles since being first elected for Harborough in 2017. His Substack should be of interest to all readers.
Both have been appointed to be in place for Education Questions in the House of Commons this afternoon. Trott was reportedly keen on having a role focused on public sector reform – a sign those Cameronite instincts are well-ingrained.
Monday 4th 7:00 AM
William Atkinson reporting.
Fresh off the back of her victory, Kemi Badenoch has begun appointing her Shadow Cabinet. Her first choice is Rebecca Harris as Chief Whip, replacing Stuart Andrew. Having first entered Parliament for Castle Point in 2010, she has previously served as a Deputy Whip and as Comptroller of the Household. It will be her job to corral our 121 MPs to vote the same way.
Nigel Huddleston and Dominic Johnson—a peer—were also reportedly appointed joint Party Chairmen, replacing Richard Fuller and becoming the party’s ninth and tenth Chairmen since the 2019 election. Huddleston has been an MP since 2015 and previously served in several ministerial roles. Johnson ran a hedge fund before serving in several roles, including Vice-Chairman.
