Tom Tugendhat to take over as Tory shadow foreign secretary in Badenoch reshuffle
Former Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat is set to replace Dame Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary when Kemi Badenoch reshapes her front bench next
Former Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat is set to replace Dame Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary when Kemi Badenoch reshapes her front bench next month. The move returns Tugendhat to a senior Conservative role after a long spell away from the top team.
Front bench reset
BBC News said it had been told of the switch, which was first reported by the Daily Telegraph. Patel said on social media that she would leave the foreign affairs brief for a new role focused on building links with sister parties and other centre-right movements around the world.
The change comes as Badenoch is already under pressure to refresh her team. Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly has said he is stepping down so he can run for London mayor. There had also been expected changes because shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho is due to take maternity leave.
Short pause. Big shift.
Tugendhat’s return
Tugendhat, a former British Army reserve and Territorial Army officer, has long spoken out on international affairs and security. He served as security minister under Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, and previously chaired the Foreign Affairs Select Committee for five years.
His return to the front bench will be his first senior post since he finished fourth in the 2024 Conservative leadership election. Patel, who finished sixth in that contest, had been appointed to Badenoch’s shadow cabinet after the vote and had held several senior roles in Conservative governments before that.
Foreign policy focus
Patel said her new role would continue her work with conservatives and centre-right parties overseas. She described the moment as one of “profound global uncertainty” and said conservative parties needed to work more closely together.
Her remarks also pointed to the wider foreign policy arguments now shaping Conservative thinking, including stronger action on threats from China, Iran and Russia, and criticism of the government’s approach to the Chagos Islands deal. Tugendhat has been seen as one of the party’s tougher voices on China, and he has campaigned against plans for a new Chinese super embassy in London.
The reshuffle still appears unfinished. Party figures have played down talk that shadow chancellor Mel Stride will lose his role, though some sources have suggested Badenoch could yet move him. For now, one change is confirmed, and another senior name is back in the frame: Tugendhat, who fell just one place short of the final Tory leadership shortlist in 2024.
