Kemi Badenoch will unveil her shadow cabinet within the next few days as she starts her tenure as leader of the opposition, following her leadership victory on Saturday.
The new Conservative leader aims to have her top team assembled by Tuesday, in time for the shadow cabinet’s first meeting since her election.
During her campaign, Badenoch expressed her willingness to consider appointing all five of her leadership rivals to roles within her team. However, former Home Secretary James Cleverly has already stated his intention to return to the backbenches.
Other prominent Conservatives stepping back from frontbench duties include former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Badenoch’s predecessor as party leader, Rishi Sunak. Meanwhile, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Mel Stride, and Dame Priti Patel are reportedly still open to taking on frontbench responsibilities.
Among Badenoch’s known supporters, Andrew Griffith, a former Treasury minister, is seen as a strong contender for the role of shadow chancellor.
Badenoch made history on Saturday by becoming the first Black woman to lead a major European political party, defeating Robert Jenrick with 53,806 votes to 41,388.
Her initial shadow cabinet appointments are likely to signal the direction she plans to take the party, with many analysts predicting a rightward shift as the Conservatives work to win back voters who have drifted to Reform UK.
In her victory speech, Badenoch acknowledged the challenges facing her party, emphasizing the need for honesty and self-reflection: “Our party has a huge job ahead of us. We must be honest about where we have made mistakes.”
She continued: “The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve.”
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Badenoch criticized the Labour Government, claiming it would “fail because they are repeating many of our mistakes and are doubling down on this broken system.” She added, “It is now the job of the Conservatives to hold them to account and begin the work of renewal.” Photo by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, Wikimedia commons.