James Cleverly will return to the Conservative frontbench as the new shadow housing secretary, facing off against Angela Rayner, as part of a reshuffle of Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet.
A Conservative source said the former Tory leadership contender, who served as home secretary, would have a “prominent role” in the revamped team.
Edward Argar has stepped down as shadow health secretary, which he said was on the advice of his doctors after a “health scare” earlier this summer. He will be replaced by Stuart Andrew, a former minister who has been shadow culture minister.
Kevin Hollinrake, who had been shadow housing and communities secretary, will become party chair. He takes over from Nigel Huddleston, who will be the new shadow culture secretary.
A Tory source said the wider changes “reflect the next stage of the party’s policy renewal programme and underline the unity of the party under new leadership”.
They said Cleverly would be given a “prominent frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government”.
A source close to the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, said they believed he would be staying in post.
In his letter to Badenoch, posted on X, Argar said that after a health incident this summer, another issue had been discovered, and that he would step down from his role to focus fully on his health. Badenoch replied saying she was “saddened” at the news.
Cleverly, who also served as foreign secretary, had returned to the backbenches after losing the leadership contest in the final round of MPs’ votes, meaning Badenoch faced Robert Jenrick in the members’ vote. Jenrick, who is still ambitious for the leadership, has maintained a prominent public profile as the shadow justice secretary.
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In a speech last week, Cleverly warned the Conservatives against pursuing a populist agenda that would try to ape Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
He also discounted the idea that he hoped to replace Badenoch, saying his party had to “get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us”.
Cleverly had been touted to run as the Tory candidate for mayor of London – and would not be drawn on his future ambitions when he gave the speech last week. He received a knighthood in April last year as part of Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.