Inside Kemi Badenoch’s first shadow cabinet

At her first shadow cabinet as Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch walked into the room and declared that there were ‘still too many people’. Various advisers hastily left. It was an indication of how she plans to do things differently. Even the invitation list for politicians has been slimmed down – the shadow attorney will not attend, and some roles have been axed, such as deputy leader. No ‘readout’ of discussion topics was emailed to hacks afterwards to update the lobby on what happened.

Kemi Badenoch can start off her leadership by pitching herself ason the same side as rural voters

The reason? Badenoch wants shadow cabinet meetings to be a safe space for political debate. She herself has been stung by leaks from these meetings in the past. Her decision to ‘rip into’ Rishi Sunak over mistakes in the Tory campaign in the first shadow cabinet after the election quickly leaked to the press.

According to those present, this week’s gathering was, thankfully, a tamer affair. ‘We’re in the honeymoon stage,’ says one attendee. Though that didn’t stop light sniping. ‘Half the room didn’t know what to do or how it worked,’ says one figure. Others focused their attention on the leadership runner-up Robert Jenrick, now shadow justice secretary. Jenrick and Badenoch entered the room together. ‘He looked like he was walking into the last supper,’ says a colleague.

Iain Duncan Smith gave a presentation on how to do opposition well. While a respected figure, it raised some eyebrows around the table given his own struggles as leader. He urged the new front bench to wage the war of the flea. He explained that the Labour government represented a big elephant and it was the job of the remaining Tories to do the job of the flea: they can’t match their opponent in size but they can annoy and confuse.