Badenoch Brings Back Cleverly In Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle
Kemi Badenoch has overhauled her shadow cabinet in a move that brings Sir James Cleverly back to the frontbench as shadow housing secretary. He’ll face off against Deputy PM Angela Rayner and focus on “bread and butter” Conservative priorities like council tax and housing. Once a leadership rival, Cleverly was out of Badenoch’s initial team but is now seen as having a “prominent role” as the Tories try to regain ground in the polls.
The reshuffle also sees Edward Argar step down as shadow health secretary after a recent health scare, saying he needed to “lighten [his] workload” to fully recover. Stuart Andrew will take over the health brief, while his former culture post goes to Nigel Huddleston. Kevin Hollinrake, who was previously shadow housing secretary, becomes the new Conservative Party chair.
Badenoch's team says the shake-up reflects “the next stage of the party’s policy renewal programme.” While some see it as a move to re-energise the party, critics including Labour called it “the panic button,” and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage dismissed the reshuffle as meaningless, claiming the Conservatives “will cease to be a national party” by next year.
