Badenoch demands ‘team effort’ from new shadow cabinet to win back voters’ trust

Kemi Badenoch said she will “win back the trust of the public”, as she announced her shadow cabinet.

The new Conservative Party leader appointed former policing minister Chris Philp as shadow home secretary, replacing leadership rival James Cleverly who ruled out taking a senior frontbench role.

She gave senior roles to other former leadership rivals, with Robert Jenrick confirmed as shadow justice secretary and Mel Stride as shadow chancellor.

Mrs Badenoch 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.”

The new-look shadow cabinet was meeting for the first time on Tuesday morning.

Dame Priti Patel, another former leadership contender, will become shadow foreign secretary.

She was forced to resign from her Cabinet role as international development secretary in 2017 after holding unsanctioned meetings with senior Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while on a “private holiday”.

But there was no role for leadership contender Tom Tugendhat, who is understood to have told Mrs Badenoch he did not want a shadow cabinet post before any offer was made.

Before winning the contest, Mrs Badenoch had suggested she would offer all five of her leadership rivals jobs in her shadow cabinet.

Alex Burghart takes the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster role along with the Northern Ireland portfolio he previously held.

Ed Argar is shadow health secretary, Kevin Hollinrake is shadow housing secretary, Victoria Atkins is the shadow environment secretary and Andrew Griffith is the shadow business secretary.

Helen Whately has become shadow work and pensions secretary, Gareth Bacon takes the transport brief, Stuart Andrew is the shadow culture secretary and Alan Mak is the shadow science secretary.

Mims Davies adds responsibility for Wales to her shadow women and equalities role, Andrew Bowie will double up as shadow Scottish secretary and shadow energy minister, with Claire Coutinho continuing as shadow energy secretary.

Jesse Norman becomes shadow Commons leader while Lord True continues in the equivalent role in the upper chamber.

Julia Lopez, who had been shadow culture secretary, will now only attend shadow cabinet as Mrs Badenoch’s parliamentary private secretary.

James Cartlidge continues as shadow defence secretary while the appointments of shadow education secretary Laura Trott, shadow chief whip Dame Rebecca Harris and party co-chairmen Nigel Huddleston and Lord Dominic Johnson had already been announced.

Former party chairman Richard Fuller has become the shadow Treasury chief secretary.

A series of other shadow ministerial appointments were also made on Tuesday afternoon.

Gagan Mohindra has been appointed shadow deputy chief whip, while Mark Francois and Kieran Mullan have been given jobs in the shadow defence and justice teams respectively.

Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said: “Instead of turning the page on 14 years of Tory government, Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet shows that the Conservatives have learnt nothing.

“How can the new Conservative leader claim to be changing the Tory Party when most of her team were ministers for Liz Truss as they crashed Britain’s economy, or claim to want to uphold standards when most went AWOL for the vote on Boris Johnson’s antics at Partygate?”