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| James Cleverly to return as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles Tory frontbench | James Cleverly to return as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles Tory frontbench |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Former home secretary, who has warned against pursuing a Reform-style populist agenda, will take ‘prominent role’ | Former home secretary, who has warned against pursuing a Reform-style populist agenda, will take ‘prominent role’ |
| James Cleverly will return to the Conservative frontbench as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles her shadow cabinet on Tuesday. | James Cleverly will return to the Conservative frontbench as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles her shadow cabinet on Tuesday. |
| A Conservative source said the former leadership contender who served as home secretary would have a “prominent role” in the reshuffled team. | A Conservative source said the former leadership contender who served as home secretary would have a “prominent role” in the reshuffled team. |
| The shadow health secretary, Edward Argar, is expected to step down from his role due to personal reasons. “The leader of the opposition will be making some changes to her frontbench team today,” a Tory source confirmed. | |
| “The changes reflect the next stage of the party’s policy renewal programme and underline the unity of the party under new leadership. Sir James Cleverly is expected to return in a prominent frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government.” | “The changes reflect the next stage of the party’s policy renewal programme and underline the unity of the party under new leadership. Sir James Cleverly is expected to return in a prominent frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government.” |
| A source close to the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, said they believed he would be staying in post. The full changes are expected to be announced on Tuesday afternoon. | A source close to the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, said they believed he would be staying in post. The full changes are expected to be announced on Tuesday afternoon. |
| Cleverly, who also served as foreign secretary, had returned to the backbenches after losing the leadership contest in the final round of MPs’ votes, meaning Badenoch faced Robert Jenrick in the members’ vote. Jenrick, who is still ambitious for the leadership, has maintained a prominent public profile as shadow justice secretary. | Cleverly, who also served as foreign secretary, had returned to the backbenches after losing the leadership contest in the final round of MPs’ votes, meaning Badenoch faced Robert Jenrick in the members’ vote. Jenrick, who is still ambitious for the leadership, has maintained a prominent public profile as shadow justice secretary. |
| In a speech last week, Cleverly warned the Conservatives against pursuing a populist agenda that would try to ape Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. | In a speech last week, Cleverly warned the Conservatives against pursuing a populist agenda that would try to ape Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. |
| He also discounted the idea that he hoped to replace Badenoch, saying his party had to “get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us”. | He also discounted the idea that he hoped to replace Badenoch, saying his party had to “get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us”. |
| In another speech, in June, Cleverly indicated disquiet with Badenoch’s decision to roll back net zero policies, saying it was a false choice to believe the UK had to choose between economic growth and protecting the environment. Badenoch has argued current net zero targets will harm the economy. | |
| Cleverly had been linked to a run as the Tory candidate for mayor of London and would not be drawn on his future ambitions when he gave the speech last week. He received a knighthood in April last year. | |
| While the expected departure of Argar provides an immediate impetus for the reshuffle, the changes will also be seen as a reflection of the sense that Badenoch and her front bench team have thus far made a minimal impact. | |
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| Since Badenoch became the Tory leader, and thus leader of the opposition in November, her party has been consistently in third place in national polling, well behind Reform UK and Labour, and in a few instances even fourth behind the Liberal Democrats as well. | |
| Some shadow cabinet members have energetically generated news, most notably Jenrick and Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, with the latter prompting the Home Office into a crackdown on asylum seekers working after he posted a self-made video on the subject. | |
| But others have been less visible. In the regular Conservative Home survey of Tory party members about how they rank the shadow cabinet, while Jenrick, Philp and Stride have strongly positive ratings, those near the bottom include Argar as well as Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary and Alan Mak, the shadow science secretary. |