Kemi Badenoch begins to form new Tory shadow cabinet

Huddleson, MP for Droitwich and Evesham in the West Midlands, previously worked under Badenoch as a minister when she was business secretary. Most recently he was Minister of Finance.

Lord Johnson also served under Badenoch as Trade Secretary after Liz Truss appointed him to the House of Lords during her short tenure as Prime Minister. He previously served as vice-chair of the party under Theresa May between 2016 and 2019 and has donated more than £275,000 to the Tories over the past decade.

In 2007, he co-founded the investment company Somerset Capital Management with former Conservative MP and minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.

A formal announcement of the full composition of the shadow cabinet is expected before its first meeting on Tuesday.

Badenoch is expected to make way for her leadership rival Jenrick after she said in her victory speech that he had a “key role to play in our party for many years to come”.

On Sunday she said she would bring people from all wings of the party into her team.

She said she wanted a “shadow cabinet that is meritocratic, that brings in the diversity of experience, the geographic diversity, the work experience, the professional experience that MPs had before they came (to Parliament).”

The current Labor government has 120 ministers, meaning the Tories may struggle to cover all the posts given they only have 121 MPs.

Former home secretary and defeated leadership candidate James Cleverley last week ruled out serving in the shadow cabinet. I tell FT, external he had been “relieved” of 16 years on the political front line and was now “not particularly in the mood to be in a small group again.”

Former environment secretary Steve Barclay confirmed he will also return to the bench at the weekend.