Ken Clarke is Shadow Business Secretary

So it’s official – Ken Clarke is back in a reshuffle to be announced tomorrow, replacing Alan Duncan as Shadow Business Secretary. Clarke promised to behave over a lunch with Cameron and Osborne yesterday. He apparently told them he does not accept the party line on Lisbon or the EPP, but will shut up about it and not try to change the party line. No moves in the top jobs (i.e. Hague and Gove staying put, as are Fox and Grayling), yet I hear there may be extensive reshuffling in the lower ranks. My initial take:

1. Cameron is taking a large gamble. Clarke has said precisely what he thought pretty much since 1994, and hasn’t held back from sounding off over Europe when he felt like it. Toeing a party line is a very hard task, you have to stop your mental reflexes so you don’t screw up on Question Time or whatever.