Who are the MPs likely to make Badenoch's cabinet?

One of the main reasons the Tories suffered so heavily in July was division. Divided parties do not win elections, and since Brexit Tory politics has been a soap opera, with the Conservative ranks riddled with infighting.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

In a piece setting out what Kemi Badenoch needs to do to get the party back on track, pollster Luke Tryl tells The Independent that ending the infighting and picking a united top team will be one of her most important tasks.

Yesterday her first shadow cabinet appointment was revealed when interim chief whip Stuart Andrew tweeted that he was being replaced by Rebecca Harris, the MP for Castle Point in Essex. Dame Rebecca has been an MP since 2010 and a Conservative whip since 2018.

But Ms Badenoch is picking from a depleted pool, with the Tories having returned just 121 MPs in July. And a slew of Tory heavyweights including Rishi Sunak, James Cleverly, Jeremy Hunt and Oliver Dowden have said they will not serve in Ms Badenoch’s shadow cabinet, opting for stints on the backbenches instead.

The Tory leader is set to announce her full shadow cabinet early this week. So, who could make up the top team Ms Badenoch has said is needed to rebuild the party?

Robert Jenrick

During the campaign, Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch said they would each offer spots on their respective front benches.

But much of the contest was dominated by spats between the two about their opposing stances on the European Convention on Human Rights, making Mr Jenrick a potential risk in the Home Office brief. He also quit Mr Sunak’s government, accusing him of not being tough enough on the party’s controversial Rwanda deportation policy.

So while he looks set for a key job, and giving him one will be key to uniting the party, Ms Badenoch may be minded to put him somewhere less risky.

`Claire Coutinho