James Cleverly to return to Conservative front bench as Kemi Badenoch makes shadow cabinet reshuffle
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. James Cleverly will return to the Conservative frontbench as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles her shadow cabinet on Tuesday.
Cleverly, the former home and foreign secretary, who unsuccessfully stood to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader, is an MP for Braintree and has used his position from the backbenches to warn his party against following a Reform style populist agenda.
It is not clear what position Cleverly will be appointed to but a Conservative source said it would be a “prominent” one on the frontbenches.
The source said:
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 frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government.
A full list of the changes Badenoch is making to her top team will be released this afternoon. There is deep dissatisfaction among the Tory ranks with what some MPs have described as Badenoch’s lackluster performance as leader of the opposition. This sense is also reflected in opinion polls, with the Conservatives often trialling way behind Reform (first place) and Labour (second place).
As my colleague Peter Walker notes in this story, Cleverly recently set out a broad policy pitch for the Conservatives similar to that of Badenoch, based around lower taxes and a smaller state, plus less regulation, reduced migration and more housebuilding, although he did argue that departure from the European convention on human rights, as raised by Badenoch, was not a “silver bullet” on migration and asylum.
Here is the agenda for the day:
Morning. Foreign secretary David Lammy on broadcast rounds.
0930. Latest homelessness figures for England from the housing ministry.
1130. Nigel Farage press conference at Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.
14:00. Rachel Reeves before Economic Affairs Committee for annual scrutiny session.
Key events
David Lammy ‘appalled’ and ‘sickened’ by Israel’s conduct in Gaza
The UK and 27 other nations yesterday condemned the Israeli government and military for its “unacceptable” conduct in Gaza.
David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, joined ministers from Australia, Canada and France in urging Israel to lift restrictions on the flow of aid, arguing the suffering of civilians had “reached new depths”.
Lammy has been asked by BBC breakfast this morning for his personal reaction to the horrifying scenes in Gaza, where hungry and desperate Palestinian people are regularly killed by the Israeli military while trying to collect aid or sheltering from bombardments.
He said:
I feel the same as the British public: appalled, sickened. I described what I saw, yesterday in Parliament, as grotesque.
These are not words that are usually used by a foreign secretary who is attempting to be diplomatic, but when you see innocent children holding out their hand for food, and you see them shot and killed in the way that we have seen in the last few days, of course Britain must call it out.
Of course Britain must lead others in the statement, as I did yesterday, to call it out.
Of course we must get on the phone and we must urge Israel to think again, as I did again yesterday.
We will continue to pressure, we will continue to act, we will continue to urge this Israeli government to listen to 83% of its public who are urging them now to move to a ceasefire so those hostages can come out.
More than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and the entire population is at risk of famine, according to food security experts.
Israel imposed a total aid blockade for 11 weeks starting in March, and the trickle of food, fuel and medical supplies allowed in since May has not relieved extreme hunger.
James Cleverly to return to Conservative front bench as Kemi Badenoch makes shadow cabinet reshuffle
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. James Cleverly will return to the Conservative frontbench as Kemi Badenoch reshuffles her shadow cabinet on Tuesday.
Cleverly, the former home and foreign secretary, who unsuccessfully stood to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader, is an MP for Braintree and has used his position from the backbenches to warn his party against following a Reform style populist agenda.
It is not clear what position Cleverly will be appointed to but a Conservative source said it would be a “prominent” one on the frontbenches.
The source said:
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 frontbench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government.
A full list of the changes Badenoch is making to her top team will be released this afternoon. There is deep dissatisfaction among the Tory ranks with what some MPs have described as Badenoch’s lackluster performance as leader of the opposition. This sense is also reflected in opinion polls, with the Conservatives often trialling way behind Reform (first place) and Labour (second place).
As my colleague Peter Walker notes in this story, Cleverly recently set out a broad policy pitch for the Conservatives similar to that of Badenoch, based around lower taxes and a smaller state, plus less regulation, reduced migration and more housebuilding, although he did argue that departure from the European convention on human rights, as raised by Badenoch, was not a “silver bullet” on migration and asylum.
Here is the agenda for the day:
Morning. Foreign secretary David Lammy on broadcast rounds.
0930. Latest homelessness figures for England from the housing ministry.
1130. Nigel Farage press conference at Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.
14:00. Rachel Reeves before Economic Affairs Committee for annual scrutiny session.