Kemi Badenoch to reshuffle shadow cabinet with James Cleverly set to return to Tory front bench
Date: 2025-07-22T07:41:41.000Z
Title: James Cleverly to return to Conservative front bench as Kemi Badenoch makes shadow cabinet reshuffle
Content: 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.
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So much nonsense about how sixteen-year-olds don't have the experience, wisdom, knowledge, etc., etc., etc., to have the vote. Having been politically active for most of my life, the lesson of decades of canvassing is that the majority of adults don't really have the faintest idea what they're voting for, or why. You'd be amazed, for instance, at the number of people who say that they're going to vote for X Party because they think that they'll be the election winners – as if they're backing a horse race. bottlebank 16-year-olds can be more mature than adults Many 16-year-olds I know are more mature than many adults; not all, I appreciate that, but to say they aren't mature enough is ludicrous. If they're allowed to get married, then they're old enough to vote. I welcome this move – it'll modernise the voting system and bring in more points of view. The voting population will be getting older and older, and we'll end up with a load of pensioners making decisions based on 'what's good for me' rather than what's good for the up-and-coming generations. deadduck They've studied politics – they're clued up At the age of 16, students have studied politics as part of community studies. I am old so don't talk to many teenagers, but those that I have spoken to – serving staff in cafés, relatives, etc. – are all pretty clued up and invested in what is their future. They can join the forces at 16, get married at 16 – surely if they are mature enough to do that, they are mature enough to vote? DafB Zero life skills A very small minority are politically aware, most aren't. They have zero life skills, experience of bills, home or car ownership etc. Some will argue they are old enough to join the forces. Yes, where you are told what to do by others. It is clearly an idea of Labour, backed up by the Liberals and Greens, to gain a potential two million more votes – all three being poor or struggling in the polls. Sooperhooper Most kids don't care – but neither do adults I don't think most kids today give a darn about politics or are educated well enough to know what's at stake. I'd even go so far as to say that many adults aren't educated well enough to understand the same things. We're at a critical junction in world history and politics. We must make wise choices and hope those who make the laws are of good heart and want to represent their actual constituents. At the moment, and with a somewhat cynical eye, it doesn't look that way. AwareReader Wait until they've left school My thoughts are they could have the voting age dropped to 17 years after they have left school and found out what the world of work is all about. Also, in the final year at secondary school they have education in politics and the voting system. Billydes Open to influence In my experience, teenagers have little in the way of original thought when it comes to politics. Lacking experience, they're still malleable and open to influence, and it would be easy to see how their thinking could be influenced by others who have a darker agenda. RickC Five reasons for Yes 16-year-olds should vote. Why? Because: It should encourage an interest in politics and democracy. It might stop some claiming, "What's the point – no-one listens to us..." It seemingly only has a marginal effect on outcomes in any case. It'll focus politicians on our future – our yoof. Although our youngsters are often a tad idealistic – i.e. leftish – that's fair enough, as it should help counter the barmy rightie oldies. :-) DevsAd They live with the consequences Young people have the most to vote for, as they are voting for their future. They are the ones who will have to live through the impact of their vote, which will mostly impact (though not entirely) those who are of working age. Legally, people aged 16 can work, pay taxes, join the military, have children, etc. – then it is only right that they get a say in the running of the country. Those complaining are all moaning about "woke leftie kids voting", but I can assure you they won't be voting Labour! SoMrHarris E lectoral gerrymandering If 16, why not 15? If 15, why not 14? If 14, why not 13? Where is the cut-off? My 7-year-old pays taxes in the form of VAT every time she uses her pocket money to buy something. Should she be allowed to vote? Labour simply has no convincing logical argument in favour of extending the franchise to 16-year-olds, especially given that we as a society currently think they are too immature to buy fireworks, get tattoos, open a bank account, gamble, pawn something in a pawn shop, and view pornography. Yet we are supposed to buy into the notion that they should be allowed to help choose the next government "because they can pay taxes". It is blatant and desperate electoral gerrymandering of the most partisan kind, from a man who promised to "put country before party". Labour appears to have belatedly bought into the idea that there is an emerging crisis of legitimacy in politics that has been brewing for decades. Their publicly-stated analysis of the cause of this crisis is frankly laughable. Do they seriously believe that this crisis can be fixed by managerial tinkering with the electoral process? That people think politicians are duplicitous troughers only because 16 and 17-year-olds are not more engaged with politics? It is nonsense. The issue is that people see politicians continually lying, gaslighting, claiming they will do one thing while literally doing the exact opposite, and generally serving their own agenda rather than that of voters, who they treat with barely disguised contempt. Will giving 16-year-olds the vote solve that? Of course not. It will make it worse. sj99 I trust my teenage son more than some voters My son was 17 this week. He is sane, smart, sober, politically aware and I would back his judgement in a polling booth ahead of any Reform UK voter of any age. SteveHill Why not? Why not? They are at least as intelligent and mature as the pensioner gammons who voted for Brexit. I suggest that as well as lowering the voting age, we should insist on a mental competence test for people over seventy – just like you need to renew your driving licence beyond that age – and I speak as a seventy-two-year-old.
