Kemi Badenoch set to reshuffle Conservative Party shadow cabinet

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is set to reshuffle her shadow cabinet on Tuesday.

Sir James Cleverly, who previously served in government as the foreign secretary and home secretary, is expected to return to the front bench as part of the changes.

The leader of the opposition had been expected to make small changes to the make-up of her frontbench team in order to replace one or two shadow ministers who wanted to step down for personal reasons.

However, BBC News understands Badenoch has opted for a bigger shake-up, including bringing back former leadership rival Sir James into a high-profile role.

A party source confirmed the reshuffle to the BBC, saying: “The leader of the opposition will be making some changes to her frontbench team today.

“The changes reflect the next stage of the party’s policy renewal programme and underline the unity of the party under new leadership.

“Sir James Cleverly, is expected to return in a prominent front bench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government.”

Sir James has been a backbench MP since being eliminated from the Tory leadership election in October 2024, after which Badenoch went on to defeat her closest rival, the now-shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.

It is not yet known what role Sir James will take up in the shadow cabinet.

He received a knighthood in April 2025 as part of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.

A full list of changes to Badenoch’s team is expected in Tuesday afternoon.

A Labour source said “After initially claiming her shadow cabinet would be in place until the next election, Kemi Badenoch has already hit the panic button.

“The Tory leader can shuffle as many deckchairs as she likes, but it’ll still be the same old faces that were responsible for 14 years of failure.”