Burghart becomes Tory deputy leader in major reshuffle

The move completes a shake-up of Kemi Badenoch's top team ahead of the party's conference in October. Alex Burghart has been appointed deputy leader of the Conservative Party, as part of a major reshuffle that saw Sir Mel Stride and Dame Priti Patel sacked. Burghart has been a close ally of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, often helping her prepare for Prime Minister's Question Time and big Commons moments. His appointment is the final element of Badenoch's substantial shadow cabinet reshuffle, much of which took place on Monday. In other moves, Andrew Griffith will replace Sir Mel as shadow chancellor, while Tom Tugendhat will take the place of Dame Priti as shadow foreign secretary. With most polls putting the Conservatives in third place, lagging behind Labour and Reform UK, Badenoch will be hoping a refreshed shadow cabinet will help boost her party's popularity ahead of the party's conference in October. Burghart is expected to be the go-to stand-in at PMQs, and also deputise for Badenoch when necessary, as well as continuing as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary. He was elected as MP for Brentwood and Ongar in Essex on the same day Badenoch was elected in the nearby constituency now known as North West Essex in 2017. A senior Conservative source said: "Kemi is changing the way the Conservative Party approaches economic policy and creating a new economic leadership team for the next phase, focused on growth, higher living standards and fiscal credibility." Badenoch said that as shadow chancellor, Sir Mel had helped the party rebuild economic credibility and become an effective opposition. Sir Mel, who was appointed to the role following Badenoch's leadership election in 2024, described his time in post as a "great honour". New shadow chancellor Griffith said the Tories will deliver "an economic revolution" with lower taxes, Britain drilling again to bring energy costs down, slashing red tape and Labour's Employment Rights Act.

"The Conservatives will always back the risk-takers and wealth creators who deliver growth, investment and jobs," he said. The Tory source described Griffith as a "no-nonsense, pro-growth shadow chancellor with real business experience". Claire Coutinho, previously the shadow energy secretary, after her maternity leave will replace Griffith as shadow business secretary and act as his deputy. Before he became MP for Arundel and South Downs in 2019, Griffith served as a top executive at Sky and as chairman of Just Eat. As a Treasury minister, he defended Liz Truss' 2022 mini-Budget . Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson described Griffith as "a key architect of Liz Truss's disastrous mini-Budget" and said the shadow cabinet featured politicians "who hammered family finances and left our public services crumbling". That message was echoed by other parties. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: "His appointment to shadow chancellor shows they're happy to forfeit any claim to economic credibility in their race to the bottom with Reform UK." Reform UK's economy spokesman Robert Jenrick said: "They haven't changed and still aren't sorry for the damage they inflicted on our country." Dame Priti, who had been shadow foreign secretary since 2024, will return to the backbenches and will take on a new international role strengthening the Tories relationship with sister parties and centre-right movements abroad. Badenoch has selected Damian Hinds as the new shadow health and social care secretary after Stuart Andrew confirmed he will be returning to the backbenches . Katie Lam has been named as the new housing secretary, after Sir James Cleverly quit the front bench, announcing he wants to run for London mayor . Badenoch's reshuffle is intended to bring solutions to a number of problems.

First, she wants to retire those members of her top team that have had a relatively low profile, or who have not been delivering sufficient blows to both Labour and Reform UK. Badenoch paid a warm tribute to Sir Mel but some recent polls suggested that Reform UK were more trusted on the economy than the Conservatives. Second, while familiar faces like Dame Priti were useful to have in the top team as they brought high-level government experience, they might also remind voters of the party they decisively rejected in 2024. There has been a changing of the old guard, and Badenoch is now focusing on who can take the Conservatives into the next election - faced as she is by a new Labour leader and cabinet. Third, she wants to focus on issues where Labour is perceived to be vulnerable. So as shadow foreign secretary she appointed Tom Tugendhat - a former security minister and current army reservist who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He will work as part of a team with the shadow defence secretary. Some opinion polls rate the economy as the most important issue for voters, above asylum and immigration, and again the Tory leader believes the government is vulnerable here, with sluggish growth. So she has announced a new Conservative economic unit headed by Griffith, with his extensive business experience.

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