Tory reshuffle live: Badenoch to promote old rival amid speculation over Jenrick’s fate – UK Times

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride has responded to the higher-than-expected rise in government borrowing.

“Rachel Reeves is spending money she doesn’t have. Debt interest already costs taxpayers £100 billion a year – almost double the defence budget – and it’s forecast to rise to £130 billion on Labour’s watch.

“Labour’s jobs tax and reckless borrowing is killing growth and fuelling inflation – paving the way for more tax hikes and more borrowing in the autumn. Make no mistake – working families will pay the price for Labour’s failure and costly U-turns.

“Only the Conservatives, under new leadership, will break this cycle. Only the Conservatives believe in sound money and low taxes.”

A Tory party 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 front bench role to take the fight to this dreadful Labour government.”

Sir James Cleverly served as both foreign secretary and home secretary when the Conservatives were in power.

He stood as a candidate in last year’s Conservative leadership election, but lost out on the Tory top job ahead of the final heat between Mrs Badenoch and her now-shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.

Since the leadership contest, Sir James has returned to the Tory back benches as the MP for Braintree.

He has used his influential position as a former minister to warn against pursuing populist agenda akin to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank last week, the senior Tory hit out at calls to “smash the system” and “start again from scratch”, branding them “complete nonsense”.

Read the full article from our political correspondent Archie Mitchell here: