Kemi Badenoch is moving to overhaul her top team today with James Cleverly making a dramatic comeback.
The Tory leader has launched a reshuffle saying it will kick-start the ‘next stage’ of ‘renewal’ after the disastrous election defeat.
But current frontbenchers will be waiting nervously with Mrs Badenoch’s former leadership rival Sir James expected to take one of the biggest jobs.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride, shadow home secretary Chris Philp, and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel are currently in the key portfolios. Robert Jenrick is in the justice brief, but has ruffled some feathers by roaming widely across topics.
Shadow health secretary Ed Argar has revealed he is standing down after suffering a health scare, with Mrs Badenoch praising his contribution.
There is speculation that ex-Cabinet minister Lord Maude could also return to the front line.
A Conservative source said: ‘The Leader of the Opposition will be making some changes to her frontbench team today.
‘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.’
Sir James served as both foreign secretary and home secretary when the Conservatives were in power.
He stood as a candidate in last year’s Conservative leadership election, but lost out on the Tory top job ahead of the final heat between Mrs Badenoch and her now-shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.
Since the leadership contest, Sir James has returned to the Tory back benches as the MP for Braintree.
He has been warning against pursuing populist agenda akin to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank last week, the senior Tory hit out at calls to ‘smash the system’ and ‘start again from scratch’, branding them ‘complete nonsense’.
He has also appeared to strike a different tone on Net Zero from Mrs Badenoch, urging the Conservatives to reject climate change ‘luddites’ on the right who believe ‘the way things are now is just fine’.
In a letter to the party leader dated July 9 and shared by Mrs Badenoch on X today, Mr Argar said: ‘I had a health scare earlier this summer and remain grateful to the doctors and hospital staff who looked after me.’
He added: ‘I have been well looked after, but have also listened to what the doctors said to me, and have listened to my family, and have concluded that lightening my front-bench workload over the coming months, in order to complete my recovery and fully restore my health in that period is the sensible approach.’
Mrs Badenoch said in her X post that Mr Argar is preparing ‘for his last parliamentary oral questions from the front bench’.
In her letter responding to him, the Tory leader said she was ‘very sorry’ he was leaving the shadow cabinet.
‘Though I am saddened that you feel unable to continue in the shadow cabinet, I strongly agree that you must put your health first,’ she said in her letter.
In January, after No10 said Rachel Reeves would remain Chancellor for all of Labour’s first term, Mrs Badenoch’s spokesman was asked if he could ‘guarantee Mel Stride will remain in the same job for the next four years’.
He replied ‘yes’ and repeated the confirmation when asked about the rest of the shadow cabinet.
‘We are very happy with our shadow cabinet as it is, thank you,’ he added.
