'Kemi's new shadow cabinet is a strong mix of experience and new talent,' says former Minister

Former Secretary of State Michelle Donelan has said Kemi Badenoch’s new cabinet is a mixture of experience and fresh talent.

Speaking on GB News Michelle Donelan said: “I think it is a strong cabinet, and it pulls people from all wings of the party. So if you look, you've got people like Victoria Atkins and Ed Argar, who are traditionally more on the left of the party and One Nation.

“You've got people like Priti Patel and Mel Stride, who stood in the leadership contest.

“You've got people from the right. You've also got Jenrick in there as well.

“You've got people that have got the experience of having been ministers, but also some fresh blood too.

“So I think it is a formidable team to take the fight to Labour, but also to try, crucially, and get some of those votes and supporters back from Reform.

“But that's about learning lessons and hearing from people that might have made mistakes and learn from them.

“But in terms of James Cleverly and others choosing not to stand, that's not unusual.

“We see that often being the case when people are not successful in becoming a leader. And to be fair to James, he's done a number of the great offices of state over the years.

“And having some time to focus on his constituency and be a backbench MP is obviously his prerogative and his decision.

“And not everybody can be in that shadow cabinet, but everybody has a role to play to be a voice now for the Conservative Party.

“I do think that there is a primary function to being an MP, and that is looking after your constituency, and it's no bad thing to say actually, you know, I've done several years as a minister now I'm going to actually spend more time having that dedication and focus to the local patch.

“And on the timing. But I take your point. I do, but we faced a seismic defeat, and unless we spend the time reflecting on that properly, understanding why that was, changing and adapting and being more in touch with the general public, then we're not going to get back in power.

“And you have to do that by getting the right leader.

“So we've had several Prime Ministers in our party. The last thing we wanted to do was elect somebody else in a rush and get it wrong. What you want to do is make sure that the next person really is the right person to recognise that challenge.”