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The scale of yesterday’s shadow cabinet reshuffle has taken most Tories by surprise, given a report by the Daily Telegraph last Tuesday which suggested that only minor changes were on the cards. But after that article was published, James Cleverly believed that now was the right time to quit the front bench, in order to stand for London Mayor. Having discussed it with Kemi Badenoch, she decided that Cleverly’s resignation was one of two key factors necessary to bring forward a complete restructuring of the front bench. The other was the signal from Tom Tugendhat that he was now prepared to take up a berth in the shadow cabinet, having previously declined to do so back in 2024.
Badenoch’s team prepared the timetable accordingly. The Sunday Times was handed the scoop on Cleverly’s bid for London mayor. Then the following day’s edition of the Daily Telegraph was given the nod that Tugendhat would come back as Shadow Foreign Secretary, allowing each men their place in the sun. Monday was then a frantic day of calls and announcements as Badenoch’s reorganised shadow cabinet took shape. Some of these were major calls, with Harriet Cross, Katie Lam and Rebecca Paul joining Nick Timothy as the first members of the 2024 intake to reach the shadow cabinet. Others, such as Alex Burghart formally becoming Deputy Leader of the Opposition, were more minor. Going forward, he will be taking Prime Ministers’ Questions in Badenoch’s absence, rather than the rotating system we have had since 2024.
