The Conservative Party‘s Badenoch shadow cabinet reshuffle has produced a new shadow chancellor in Andrew Griffith, who replaces Sir Mel Stride ahead of Parliament’s return and the party’s October conference. The appointment has immediately drawn fire from political opponents who note Griffith’s central role in the Liz Truss mini-Budget of 2022.
Griffith’s background, as cited by a senior Tory source, spans a career as a former Sky executive and chairman of Just Eat. That source said Griffith had been chosen because of his ‘incredibly impressive financial and business background’, adding that his experience meant he ‘not only knows but understands the many issues that businesses face’. The comparison with Labour was pointed: ‘While the Labour front bench has almost no private sector experience, Andrew’s experience means he has a wealth of contacts in the business community.’
The mini-Budget shadow hanging over the Badenoch shadow cabinet reshuffle
Critics were quick to surface a different chapter of Griffith’s record. According to The Independent, Griffith served as financial secretary to the Treasury (number three in the department) when the Truss mini-Budget triggered a run on the gilt market. HuffPost UK reports that he was one of the architects of the plan for £45 billion-worth of unfunded tax cuts. In the days after the ‘economic growth plan’ was delivered by then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in September 2022, interest rates soared, inflation spiked and the value of the pound collapsed.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said it was ‘clear Conservatives haven’t learned a thing’, and that the appointment ‘shows they’re happy to forfeit any claim to economic credibility in their race to the bottom’ with Reform UK. Treasury minister Emma Reynolds said on social media: ‘The new shadow chancellor backed Liz Truss to be PM and he was a treasury minister during the Tories’ disastrous 2022 mini budget which left families paying the price. Same old Tories, same old economic policies.’
Who else moves in the wider reshuffle?
Claire Coutinho, previously shadow energy secretary, moves across to take Griffith’s former role as shadow business secretary. She is currently on maternity leave; Conservative former minister Julia Lopez will cover the position until the new year. Richard Fuller continues as a shadow Treasury minister.
Badenoch paid warm tribute to the outgoing Sir Mel, saying he ‘brought experience, seriousness and stability when those things were badly needed’, had helped the party ‘rebuild economic credibility’ and had produced ‘very effective skewering of Rachel Reeves’. Sir Mel, for his part, called his time in the role a ‘great honour’ and said he looked forward to continuing ‘to build and amplify our vision for Britain, from the back benches’.
The reshuffle extends well beyond the Treasury brief. Dame Priti Patel left her role as shadow foreign secretary on Sunday; Tom Tugendhat has been appointed in her place. Tugendhat said he would ‘continue to do what I’ve always done in uniform and in Parliament: to defend our people, protect our interests and work with our allies to make Britain stronger’. Sir James Cleverly, meanwhile, announced on Saturday he is standing down as shadow housing secretary to pursue the Conservative candidacy for London mayor.
Further down the shadow ministerial ranks, Joy Morrissey has been appointed shadow minister for women and equalities, and James Cartlidge remains shadow defence secretary. Two MPs elected at the 2024 general election have also been handed their first shadow ministerial responsibilities: Rebecca Paul takes the shadow culture brief and Harriet Cross the shadow Scotland brief.
Badenoch framed the reshuffle as preparation for the long haul of opposition, telling colleagues that the party needed to keep building momentum before the conference season begins in October. Whether Griffith can separate his new shadow chancellorship from his 2022 record (and the ongoing Lib Dem and Labour attacks that go with it) will be tested from the moment Parliament returns.
