Britain30 August, 20263 min read
Priti Patel Removed As Shadow Foreign Secretary As Tom Tugendhat Replaces Her
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Tom Tugendhat will replace Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary. Patel leaving to take an international role coordinating with centre-right parties worldwide.
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Patel out, Tugendhat in
Dame Priti Patel has been removed as shadow foreign secretary as Kemi Badenoch begins a major Tory reshuffle of her top team. The BBC said former Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat will replace Patel as shadow foreign secretary when Badenoch reshuffles her team next month, after the change was first reported by the Daily Telegraph. Patel confirmed the move on social media, writing that she was leaving the role to take up a new position designed to "strengthen links with sister parties and centre right movements around the world".
The reshuffle is also tied to Sir James Cleverly’s resignation as shadow housing secretary to run for London mayor, and to the expectation that shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho will go on maternity leave. The Telegraph said Tugendhat will return to the front bench as soon as this week, and that the overhaul is designed to prepare the party for an early general election.
Why the change
The Independent reported that Badenoch removed Patel and that Patel was appointed international secretary responsible for coordinating with other centre right parties around the globe. The Independent said Tugendhat is understood to be favoured by Badenoch because he is a strong supporter of Israel and critic of China, and that he was former chair of the foreign affairs committee from 2017 to 2022. Patel framed the new role as strengthening relationships, telling the public: "I will be taking on a new Conservative Party International role to strengthen diplomatic links with international sister parties and centre right movements around the world."
The Southend Echo added that Patel said it was "an honour" to lead the party’s foreign affairs team, citing challenges to the Government’s Chagos Islands deal and calls for stronger action to protect the UK from threats posed by China, Iran and Russia. The BBC also said the reshuffle had been expected because of Claire Coutinho’s upcoming maternity leave, while people within the party played down speculation that shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride could also lose his job.
Broader reshuffle
The Telegraph said the reshuffle will also include the departure of Sir James Cleverly, currently shadow housing secretary, who resigned to pursue the Tory candidacy at the next London mayoral election in 2028, and Helen Grant, who is stepping down after her successful treatment for breast cancer. It also said Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, will leave the shadow cabinet on maternity leave before the birth of her second child later this year. The Telegraph described Tugendhat as a Tonbridge MP, 53, and said he is considered one of the fiercest China sceptics in Parliament, having campaigned against Beijing’s new London embassy and its human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims.
The BBC said Tugendhat will return to a senior role for the first time since finishing fourth in the 2024 Tory leadership election, and noted he served as security minister under Liz Truss and Boris Johnson and spent five years as chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. In the same BBC report, it was stated that Patel was appointed to Badenoch's shadow cabinet after finishing sixth in the leadership election and that she held senior roles including a three-year spell as home secretary under Boris Johnson.