After winning the Conservative Party leadership race on 2 November 2024, Kemi Badenoch has fully appointed her shadow cabinet. Badenoch has given positions to her defeated leadership candidates, as well as many prominent party members from the last few years.
Here are the key figures who will make up her shadow cabinet and what this says about how the Conservatives are reacting to their landslide defeat in July’s General Election.
Shadow chancellor
Mel Stride
“Official portrait of Mel Stride MP crop 2, 2024” by Laurie Noble is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Stride has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2010 and stood in the 2024 leadership contest before he was voted out in the second round of voting. Previously Stride has been work and pensions secretary under former Prime Minister (PM) Rishi Sunak.
Shadow foreign secretary
Priti Patel
“Official portrait of Rt Hon Priti Patel MP crop 2” by Richard Townshend is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Like Stride, Patel also stood in the leadership race but was eliminated at the beginning. Also an MP since 2010, Patel was forced to resign from her first cabinet post as international development secretary. Former PM Boris Johnson appointed her home secretary in 2019, but Patel faced allegations of bullying from civil servants in her department, and later backlash from her introduction of the Rwanda policy.
Shadow justice secretary
Robert Jenrick
“Official portrait of Robert Jenrick MP crop 3, 2024” by Roger Harris is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Jenrick lost to Badenoch in the final round the leadership contest. Despite clashing in the final weeks of their campaigns, Jenrick’s appointment signals an attempt to reunite the Conservative Party in opposition.
Shadow home secretary
Chris Philp
“Official portrait of Chris Philp MP crop 2, 2024” by UK PARLIAMENT is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Philp has worked in the home office before, a policing minister for two years before this years election. He also has experience in the justice department and Treasury.
Shadow defence secretary
James Cartlidge
“Official portrait of James Cartlidge MP crop 2, 2024” by Laurie Noble is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
A supporter of Badenoch, Cartlidge’s new role is less ideological and policy focused than some other cabinet positions. He has already served as minister for defence procurement in the former Conservative government.
Shadow education secretary
Laura Trott
“Official portrait of Laura Trott MP crop 2” by David Woolfall is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Trott has criticised the Labour government’s recent increase in tuition fees, to £9535 in England from next year. A former political advisor to David Cameron, Trott held a junior position in Johnson’s government, before resigning in protest to his leadership in 2022.
Labour Reactions
The Student spoke to Jonny Alvarez-Buylla, the President of Edinburgh Labour Students, about Badenoch’s shadow cabinet formation.
Alvarez-Buylla stated that Badenoch’s decision shows that “the Conservatives have learned nothing”, highlighting the return of former cabinet ministers that were in Johnson, Truss, and Sunak’s governments.
He added that all the opposition offers is “more decline, more austerity”, referring to Badenoch’s campaign policies of “cutting maternity pay, the minimum wage, and handing tax breaks to oil companies”.
The Student reached out to Edinburgh University Conservative and Unionist Association for comment, but did not receive a response.
“The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch marks the publication of Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ report” by HM Treasury is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.