Is That It? Kemi Badenoch Accused Of 'Deckchair Shuffling' After Frontbench Shake-Up

Britain's Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch attends a concert to mark the 80th Anniversary of V-E Day at Horse Guards Parade, London, Thursday May 8, 2025. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)Kemi Badenoch has been mocked over a Tory reshuffle that left nearly all of her senior frontbenchers in the same jobs.The shake-up was prompted by the resignation of shadow health secretary Edward Argar for health reasons.While former foreign secretary and Tory leadership contender James Cleverly made a comeback, the rest of the reshuffle was seriously underwhelming.It was also a major U-turn after her spokesman insisted in January that there would be no reshuffle before the next election.Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick – who Badenoch beat to become leader last November – is staying in the same job, as are shadow home secretary Chris Philp, shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.Kevin Hollinrake becomes the new Tory chairman – as revealed by HuffPost UK this morning – while Stuart Andrew replaces Argar in the health role.Nigel Huddleston replaces Andrew as shadow culture secretary, while Richard Holden becomes shadow transport secretary and Julia Lopez has been appointed shadow science secretary.Badenoch said: “The Conservative Party’s mission of renewal continues, and these changes demonstrate exactly that. “This new frontbench team reflects the rich experience within the party – from the tenacious campaigners fighting for Britain, to the experienced MPs who will keep holding this disastrous Labour government to account.“Unlike Labour and Reform, the Conservative Party is unashamedly on the side of Britain’s makers: the people that work hard, do the right thing and want to get on in life.”But Labour chair Ellie Reeves said: “No amount of deckchair shuffling can hide that the architects of 14 years of Tory failure still sit around Kemi Badenoch’s top table. “The Conservatives haven’t changed and they haven’t once apologised for the mess they left behind. Only Labour is focussed on delivering a fairer Britain.”The Lib Dems also picked up on the Titanic theme, pointing out that Cleverly had called on Tory MPs not to oust Liz Truss as prime minister.Sarah Olney, the party’s Cabinet Office spokesperson, said: “Kemi Badenoch has appointed the very man who said that replacing Liz Truss as prime minister would be a terrible idea. It’s like appointing an iceberg apologist to a role steering the Titanic.“The public won’t forgive this group of failed former Conservative ministers for the damage they did to our economy and NHS.”But a former Tory cabinet member welcomed the reshuffle, telling HuffPost UK: “I think it’s positive and keeps us moving forward.”Another former minister said: “There are some welcome moves which will hopefully bring some renewed energy to the frontbench.”

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