Kemi Badenoch has carried out a major reshuffle of the Conservative shadow cabinet, removing Sir Mel Stride and Dame Priti Patel from the front bench as she builds a new top team ahead of the party conference in October.
Andrew Griffith has been promoted to shadow chancellor, replacing Sir Mel, while Tom Tugendhat becomes shadow foreign secretary in place of Dame Priti. Claire Coutinho, returning from maternity leave, will move from the energy brief to become shadow business secretary and serve as Griffith’s deputy.
Badenoch said Stride had helped the party rebuild its economic credibility while in the role, but she is also restructuring economic leadership to emphasise growth, higher living standards and fiscal credibility. Her changes include creating a new Conservative economic unit led by Griffith; Coutinho and the former Conservative chairman and City minister Richard Fuller will be part of that team, with Fuller tasked to press the case for fiscal responsibility and take a robust line on any tax rises.
Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs since 2019, brings business experience to the brief — he was a senior executive at Sky and chaired Just Eat before entering politics. As a former Treasury minister he defended Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-Budget, a point his opponents have seized on. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson called Griffith a key architect of that “disastrous” plan, while Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said his appointment undermined Conservative claims to economic credibility. Reform UK’s shadow chancellor Robert Jenrick also criticised the choice.
Dame Priti will return to the backbenches but will take on an international role intended to strengthen ties with sister parties and centre‑right movements abroad. Other moves include Damian Hinds as shadow health and social care secretary after Stuart Andrew stood down from the front bench, and Katie Lam as shadow housing secretary following Sir James Cleverly’s decision to leave the front bench to pursue a London mayoral bid.
Badenoch’s tactical aims are clear. With most polls placing the Conservatives third — behind Labour and Reform UK — she wants a refreshed, more visible team that can attack Labour’s record and seize issues where the government is seen as vulnerable, notably the economy and national security. Appointing Tugendhat, a former security minister, army reservist and veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, underlines a renewed emphasis on defence and international affairs.
The reshuffle also signals a generational and stylistic shift: familiar figures with high-level government experience remain useful, but Badenoch is prioritising those she believes can win the next election and present a pro-growth, business-friendly economic narrative. Coutinho is viewed within the party as a rising star and potential future chancellor, while the inclusion of Fuller is intended to reassure voters about fiscal discipline.
Critics argue the changes simply shuffle the same faces and bring back figures associated with past controversies. Supporters say the moves give the party a clearer economic team and better credentials on security and business. A further question for Badenoch is whether she will give her new front bench room to develop public profiles: she has been the dominant presence in media and in messaging so far, and convincing voters the Conservatives have genuine depth will depend on whether those ministers are allowed to shine.
The reshuffle sets out Badenoch’s priorities — growth, fiscal credibility and national security — and frames the party’s pitch ahead of the conference in October. Whether it shifts poll numbers or closes the trust gap with voters remains to be seen.