The Tory leader reshuffled her shadow cabinet as she prepares for a possible snap general election
Kemi Badenoch is carrying out a reshuffle of her shadow cabinet (Image: Getty)
Kemi Badenoch geared up for Parliament’s return by carrying out a major reshuffle of her top team. The Tory leader unveiled her fresh shadow cabinet as she looks to take on new PM Andy Burnham amid growing speculation of an early general election.
The experienced Sir Mel Stride – who went up against ex-chancellor Rachel Reeves and helped shape key policies on axing stamp duty and the “golden rule” to get the economy back on track – was ousted in the revamp of Mrs Badenoch’s team.
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He was replaced by Andrew Griffith, a former businessman who has served as chief operating officer at Sky and chairman of Just Eat, who will now face John Healey.
A Conservative source stressed that Mr Griffith has an “incredibly impressive financial and business background” in stark contrast to Labour’s front bench which has “almost no private sector experience”.
Claire Coutinho, a close ally of Mrs Badenoch who was the shadow energy secretary, will take on Mr Griffith’s previous shadow business secretary brief when she returns from maternity leave in the new year.
An insider said she has “proven herself as one of the shadow cabinet’s most adept performers” and that she “gets business and what it needs”.
Sir Mel will join other Tory big beasts Dame Priti Patel and Sir James Cleverly – who both had prominent Cabinet roles in the previous Conservative government – on the backbenches as Mrs Badenoch continues in her bid to convince the public that the party has changed under her leadership.
The reshuffle comes as the party faithful are set to gather in Birmingham next month for their annual conference.
Mrs Badenoch’s personal popularity is on the up, but the Conservatives are still behind in the polls.
Meanwhile, there is ongoing speculation that Mr Burnham could call an early general election to win his own mandate, although there are signs Labour’s so-called “Burnham bounce” has already stalled.
Mrs Badenoch wants to signal that the Tories are shifting from recovering from their devastating 2024 defeat to preparation for government, and the reshuffle shows she is serious about taking on Mr Burnham as snap election rumours swirl.