Jack Walters
Guest Reporter
Kemi Badenoch has made a surprise pick for Shadow Home Secretary after appointing members to her top Tory team earlier today.
The new Tory leader appointed ex-Policing Minister Chris Philp as Shadow Home Secretary, with former leadership contenders Mel Stride and Priti Patel ending up as Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Robert Jenrick, who faced off against Badenoch in the members' ballot, was also appointed as Shadow Justice Secretary.
James Cleverly had ruled himself out of a top role, instead opting to relocate to the backbenches.
However, fellow former Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat appears to have been snubbed as he did not make the Shadow Cabinet list.
The Tonbridge MP served as Security Minister under Rishi Sunak and cultivated strong levels of support from Tory members before being eliminated in the fourth round of the 2024 contest.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
Kemi Badenoch has expressed her delight after appointing the remaining members of her Shadow Cabinet this morning.
The new Tory leader 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.”
Badenoch will hold her first Shadow Cabinet meeting this morning, with junior roles being handed out on a rolling basis.
The Liberal Democrats have slammed Kemi Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet as being full of "contradictions" before warning it is a "recipe for yet more Conservative chaos".
Richmond MP Sarah Olney, who serves as the Liberal Democrats' Cabinet Office spokesperson, said: “This Cabinet of contradictions is a recipe for yet more Conservative chaos. How can they claim to be able to hold this new Government to account when they have just as many disagreements with each other?
“From a Shadow Justice Secretary who wants to leave the ECHR to a Shadow Foreign Secretary who had to resign for holding undisclosed meetings, this Shadow Cabinet has more than a ‘whiff of impropriety’.
“The Conservative Party voted for the economic vandalism caused by Liz Truss’s mini Budget and shattered the NHS. Every major challenge that this country faces the Conservative Party is responsible for.
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party that can provide the decent opposition that this country needs.”
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer - Mel Stride
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs - Dame Priti Patel
Shadow Home Secretary - Chris Philp
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland - Alex Burghart
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence - James Cartlidge
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice - Robert Jenrick
Shadow Secretary of State for Education - Laura Trott
Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary - Ed Argar
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - Kevin Hollinrake
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Victoria Atkins
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade - Andrew Griffith
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Shadow Minister for Equalities: Claire Coutinho
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions - Helen Whately
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport - Gareth Bacon
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport - Stuart Andrew
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology - Alan Mak
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and Shadow Minister of State for Energy and Net Zero - Andrew Bowie
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and Shadow Minister for Wome - Mims Davies
Opposition Chief Whip (Commons) - Dame Rebecca Harris
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons - Jesse Norman
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords - Lord True
Co-Chairmen of the Party - Nigel Huddleston & Lord Johnson
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury - Richard Fuller
Julia Lopez MP will also attend the Shadow Cabinet as Badenoch's parliamentary private secretary.
Sir Keir Starmer has swerved calls to suspend Dawn Butler after the Labour MP shared a social media post linking new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to “white supremacy”.
The Prime Minister, who was at Interpol’s summit in Glasgow yesterday, said: “She [Butler] shouldn’t have said what she did and she has deleted it, and quite right too.”
Following Badenoch’s victory in the 2024 Tory leadership race, Butler shared a post by Nigerian journalist Nels Abbey that offered “tips for surviving the immediate surge of Badenochism (ie white supremacy in blackface)”.
Butler, who served as Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Equalities Secretary, later deleted the post from her feed after sparking outrage on social media.
GB News host Nana Akua wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister yesterday to urge Starmer to “permanently withdraw” the whip from Butler.
Akua joined ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in putting pressure on Starmer to sack Butler.
Kwarteng, who was at the heart of another race row when Labour MP Rupa Huq described him as “superficially black”, told GB News: “On a personal level I’ve always got on with her, but her race-baiting is completely crazy.”
He added: “I genuinely think that given what she said, she should have the whip removed from her. There should be some discipline and some disciplinary measure against this kind of really hateful divisiveness.”
The Conservative Party's new co-chair has claimed Kemi Badenoch's Tories are "up for the fight" with Sir Keir Starmer's Labour.
Speaking to GB News this morning, Nigel Huddleston said: “We do need to focus on those principles that unite us which is very different, I think you saw in the Budget last week in particular, we believe in low taxes, we believe in personal responsibility, we believe in efficient and where possible small Government.
“This is in stark contrast to the opposition and we are up for the fight now.
"We will unite around the new leader because the whole future of the country is at stake and therefore we take that responsibility to be an effective opposition very seriously indeed."
New Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has appointed a number of Tory bigwigs to her Shadow Cabinet.
Badenoch, who was announced as the winner in the race to replace Rishi Sunak on Saturday, made room for a number of her ex-leadership rivals.
Mel Stride was appointed as Shadow Chancellor, with Priti Patel also finding herself as Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Robert Jenrick, who only trailed Badenoch by 12,418 votes in the members' vote, is also planning to take Labour on as Shadow Justice Secretary.
Badenoch backer Laura Trott was the first Shadow Cabinet Minister appointed, opposing Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in yesterday's tuition fees debate.
Labour has come under fire over its controversial plans to "fast track" migrants from countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Syria to Britain.
Speaking to GB News, Migration Watch UK chairman Alp Mehmet pointed to Labour's earlier claims that fast-tracking would "reduce the cost of accommodating migrants" - with tens of thousands being put up at Britons' expense to the tune of £4.2million every day.
But he said processing claims more quickly "does nothing of the sort" and simply "passes the burden onto local authorities and adds strength to the already-powerful magnet" pulling asylum seekers to the UK.
READ THE EXCLUSIVE HERE
Find Out More...
The new Tory leader appointed ex-Policing Minister Chris Philp as Shadow Home Secretary, with former leadership contenders Mel Stride and Priti Patel ending up as Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Robert Jenrick, who faced off against Badenoch in the members' ballot, was also appointed as Shadow Justice Secretary.
James Cleverly had ruled himself out of a top role, instead opting to relocate to the backbenches.
However, fellow former Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat appears to have been snubbed as he did not make the Shadow Cabinet list.
The Tonbridge MP served as Security Minister under Rishi Sunak and cultivated strong levels of support from Tory members before being eliminated in the fourth round of the 2024 contest.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
Badenoch 'delighted' with Shadow Cabinet picks ahead of first meeting
Kemi Badenoch has expressed her delight after appointing the remaining members of her Shadow Cabinet this morning.
The new Tory leader 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.”
Badenoch will hold her first Shadow Cabinet meeting this morning, with junior roles being handed out on a rolling basis.
'Recipe for chaos!' Lib Dems slam Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet as full of 'contradictions'
The Liberal Democrats have slammed Kemi Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet as being full of "contradictions" before warning it is a "recipe for yet more Conservative chaos".
Richmond MP Sarah Olney, who serves as the Liberal Democrats' Cabinet Office spokesperson, said: “This Cabinet of contradictions is a recipe for yet more Conservative chaos. How can they claim to be able to hold this new Government to account when they have just as many disagreements with each other?
“From a Shadow Justice Secretary who wants to leave the ECHR to a Shadow Foreign Secretary who had to resign for holding undisclosed meetings, this Shadow Cabinet has more than a ‘whiff of impropriety’.
“The Conservative Party voted for the economic vandalism caused by Liz Truss’s mini Budget and shattered the NHS. Every major challenge that this country faces the Conservative Party is responsible for.
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party that can provide the decent opposition that this country needs.”
Here's the full list of Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer - Mel Stride
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs - Dame Priti Patel
Shadow Home Secretary - Chris Philp
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland - Alex Burghart
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence - James Cartlidge
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice - Robert Jenrick
Shadow Secretary of State for Education - Laura Trott
Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary - Ed Argar
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - Kevin Hollinrake
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Victoria Atkins
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade - Andrew Griffith
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Shadow Minister for Equalities: Claire Coutinho
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions - Helen Whately
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport - Gareth Bacon
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport - Stuart Andrew
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology - Alan Mak
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and Shadow Minister of State for Energy and Net Zero - Andrew Bowie
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and Shadow Minister for Wome - Mims Davies
Opposition Chief Whip (Commons) - Dame Rebecca Harris
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons - Jesse Norman
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords - Lord True
Co-Chairmen of the Party - Nigel Huddleston & Lord Johnson
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury - Richard Fuller
Julia Lopez MP will also attend the Shadow Cabinet as Badenoch's parliamentary private secretary.
Starmer swerves calls to sack ‘race-baiting’ Labour MP after Badenoch ‘blackface’ post - 'She deleted it!'
Sir Keir Starmer has swerved calls to suspend Dawn Butler after the Labour MP shared a social media post linking new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to “white supremacy”.
The Prime Minister, who was at Interpol’s summit in Glasgow yesterday, said: “She [Butler] shouldn’t have said what she did and she has deleted it, and quite right too.”
Following Badenoch’s victory in the 2024 Tory leadership race, Butler shared a post by Nigerian journalist Nels Abbey that offered “tips for surviving the immediate surge of Badenochism (ie white supremacy in blackface)”.
Butler, who served as Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Equalities Secretary, later deleted the post from her feed after sparking outrage on social media.
GB News host Nana Akua wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister yesterday to urge Starmer to “permanently withdraw” the whip from Butler.
Akua joined ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in putting pressure on Starmer to sack Butler.
Kwarteng, who was at the heart of another race row when Labour MP Rupa Huq described him as “superficially black”, told GB News: “On a personal level I’ve always got on with her, but her race-baiting is completely crazy.”
He added: “I genuinely think that given what she said, she should have the whip removed from her. There should be some discipline and some disciplinary measure against this kind of really hateful divisiveness.”
Badenoch's Tories 'up for fight' against Labour, new co-chair claims
The Conservative Party's new co-chair has claimed Kemi Badenoch's Tories are "up for the fight" with Sir Keir Starmer's Labour.
Speaking to GB News this morning, Nigel Huddleston said: “We do need to focus on those principles that unite us which is very different, I think you saw in the Budget last week in particular, we believe in low taxes, we believe in personal responsibility, we believe in efficient and where possible small Government.
“This is in stark contrast to the opposition and we are up for the fight now.
"We will unite around the new leader because the whole future of the country is at stake and therefore we take that responsibility to be an effective opposition very seriously indeed."
Who's in Kemi's Shadow Cabinet? Full update on Badenoch's top team ahead of first meeting
New Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has appointed a number of Tory bigwigs to her Shadow Cabinet.
Badenoch, who was announced as the winner in the race to replace Rishi Sunak on Saturday, made room for a number of her ex-leadership rivals.
Mel Stride was appointed as Shadow Chancellor, with Priti Patel also finding herself as Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Robert Jenrick, who only trailed Badenoch by 12,418 votes in the members' vote, is also planning to take Labour on as Shadow Justice Secretary.
Badenoch backer Laura Trott was the first Shadow Cabinet Minister appointed, opposing Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in yesterday's tuition fees debate.
Labour blasted over 'open invitation' plan to 'fast track' migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and Syria - 'The traffickers are laughing!'
Labour has come under fire over its controversial plans to "fast track" migrants from countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Syria to Britain.
Speaking to GB News, Migration Watch UK chairman Alp Mehmet pointed to Labour's earlier claims that fast-tracking would "reduce the cost of accommodating migrants" - with tens of thousands being put up at Britons' expense to the tune of £4.2million every day.
But he said processing claims more quickly "does nothing of the sort" and simply "passes the burden onto local authorities and adds strength to the already-powerful magnet" pulling asylum seekers to the UK.
READ THE EXCLUSIVE HERE
Find Out More...