Green and Gove are highlights of latest appointments

The shadow cabinet are meeting in Birmingham today as part of David Cameron's efforts to present the Conservative Party as a party for the whole nation.  It would be good to hear from readers in the Midlands about the nature of TV/ radio/ newspaper coverage that this gesture receives.

In the meantime Mr Cameron has announced more appointments.

Stand-out appointments for me include:

• Damian Green to immigration.  Damian was a Davis supporter and as a former Shadow Education Secretary before he fell out with Michael Howard he might have hoped for a litte more.  Nonetheless he's a Kent MP and will have a good understanding of how immigration and asylum affects Britain.  He also has the one nation, moderate tone that Mr Cameron probably wants brought to the issue.


• A few new MPs get big promotions -
  
  • Michael Gove to housing;
  • Maria Miller to education;
  • Mark Harper to defence;
  • Jeremy Hunt to the disabilities portfolio;
  • Tobias Ellwood to the Whips' office.

Fleet Street is going to be much poorer for David Cameron's reshuffle.  William Hague left his News of the World perch because of his appointment as Shadow Foreign Secretary.  Boris Johnson resigned as Editor of The Spectator.  Will Michael Gove lose his Times column?  He'll certainly still be welcome as a ConservativeHome blogger...

ADDITIONAL FRONTBENCH APPOINTMENTS...

John Baron MP
Shadow Minister for Health

Tim Boswell MP
Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions (also Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the Party)

Julian Brazier TD MP
Shadow Minister for Transport

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs

Jonathan Djanogly MP
Shadow Solicitor General (also Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry and assists the Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs)

Mark Field MP
Shadow Minister for Culture

Mark Francois MP
Shadow Minister, Treasury

Edward Garnier QC MP
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs

Damian Green MP
Shadow Minister for Immigration

Nick Gibb MP
Shadow Minister for Schools

Michael Gove MP
Shadow Minister for Housing

Stephen Hammond MP
Shadow Minister for Transport

Mark Harper MP
Shadow Minister for Defence

Charles Hendry MP
Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry

Mark Hoban MP
Shadow Minister, Treasury

Gerald Howarth MP
Shadow Minister for Defence

Jeremy Hunt MP
Shadow Minister for Disabled People

Jacqui Lait MP
Shadow Minister for London

Dr Julian Lewis MP
Shadow Minister for Defence

Tim Loughton MP
Shadow Minister for Children

Anne McIntosh MP
Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions

Patrick Mercer OBE MP
Shadow Minister for Homeland Security

Maria Miller MP
Shadow Education Minister

Malcolm Moss MP
Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport

Dr Andrew Murrison MP
Shadow Minister for Health

James Paice MP
Shadow Minister for Agriculture

Eric Pickles MP
Deputy Chairman of the Party (Local Government) and Shadow Minister for Local Government

Mark Prisk MP
Shadow Minister for Small Businesses

Hugh Robertson MP
Shadow Minister for Sport and the Olympics

Laurence Robertson MP
Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland

David Ruffley MP
Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions

Mark Simmonds MP
Shadow Minister for International Development

Keith Simpson MP
Shadow Minister for  Foreign Affairs

Robert Syms MP
Shadow Minister for Local Government

Andrew Turner MP
Shadow Minister for Charities

Nigel Waterson MP
Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions

Bill Wiggin MP
Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
      
In addition, the following appointments have been made to the Opposition Whips’ Office:

• Henry Bellingham MP
• Crispin Blunt MP
• Simon Burns MP
• Tobias Ellwood MP
• David Evennett MP
• Michael Fabricant MP
• John Randall MP
• Andrew Rosindell MP
• Andrew Selous MP
• Angela Watkinson MP

Comments

[Frank Young]

By no means a purge of the right, which is probably sensible. Damien Green is a very sensible appointment to immigration, will set the right tone.

I'm interested however that Cameron hasn't appointed more women to "just below" shadow cabinet posts so that in 2/3 years time he can go into the run up to an election with a shadow cabinet crammed full of women. Wouldn't it be something to have the first cabinet with a majority of women in it. A real change for the party and British politics. Again i'm surprised he hasn't promoted people to junior posts in a strategic way, or maybe he has...

[Richard Weatherill]

The front bench will be groaning with the combined weight of all this lot (even though - unless I've missed it - there is now no room for Nicholas Soames). Just shows how bloated government has become these days.

[Coxy]

Cameron must have decided to abandon Michael Howard's "slimline"-style shadow cabinet and returned to the standard model.

Interesting to see Gerald Howarth working with Liam Fox at defence - DC must be happy to let the hawks run the show there!

[Sceptic]

Sorry, I know this isn't the time to groan, BUT ---- why has freshman MP michael Gove been put straight on the front bench? Theresa Villiers at least had the figleaf of having been an MEP, i.e. an elected politician, before she entered the commons. What's Gove's claim to this, as far as I can make out, unique advancement? He's the Leader's mate obviously, but why exactly does a former Times hack get promoted ***at once***? Does he have special gifts all the other new boys and girls lack? If so, what are they? Other than a track record of hostility, in print, to William Hague and Ian Duncan Smith, I'm not so sure what's so important about Gove's journalistic past. But clearly it's going to be a tight little circle of 'friends' running the Tory party for the next few years.

[malcolm]

I'm suprised too that there has not been a more strategic job for Gove.Ideas seem to be his forte,I wonder how he will be able to develop them with this position.
I do hope Michael will prove to be an effective opponent to Prescott and prevent him destroying whats left of the greenbelt in the Southeast.
Cameron does on the whole seem to have created a shadow team of 'all the talents'as he said he would for which I'm delighted.

[wasp]

I would have liked to have seen something for Afriye or Vara but very pleased with Gove and Ellwood from the new bunch.

[John Hustings]

"I would have liked to have seen something for Afriye or Vara"

Simply because they're ethnic? This a good reason to give someone a job?

[hayek's grandad]

Having seen Michael Gove in action in the past I can assure you he is immensely qualified for the post and Michael against Prescott should be hilarious, can't wait!

[Derek]

Thank goodness DC has the good sense not to promote women and ethnics, simply for being in that group. I hope he has chosen people for their ability. To do otherwise would not only be unfair to those more able MPs, but it would ultimately damage the Party, as it would show up those who had been over-promoted.

[Innocent Abroad]

Michael Gove should in future be known as the 'mister Bobby' of the front bench. All students of Blairism will get the reference.

[malcolm]

Big difference 'Innocent'.Mandelson operated in secret and therefore had to have a pseudonym,Michael Gove is quite open about his ideas.

[Innocent Abroad]

You think you've heard all Michael Gove's 'ideas' Malcolm? And they call me innocent . . .

[malcolm]

No, I can't say I have.But it's you that calls yourself Innocent!

[Peter]

Not to bad 15 pro Davis MPs from the first round, I don't think the Clarke supporters will be to pleased?

[PD James]

http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/birminghampost/news/tm_objectid=16479567%26method=full%26siteid=50002%26headline=cameron%2dholds%2dfirst%2dshadow%2dcabinet%2din%2dbrum%2d-name_page.html

Article from Birmingham Post on Cameron's first Shadow Cabinet meeting. Interesting point is:

"The choice also puts the official Tory seal of approval on the Conservative coalition with the Liberal Democrats, which has been running Birmingham City Council since June 2004."

[Mid-Atlantic]

I must admit to being baffled by some of these negative comments about Gove. He's extremely smart, presentable, media-savvy, and is an enthusiastic promoter of the party. He is also (from personal experience as someone who has seen him debate and speak in public many times) an extremely fluent and competent debater. He will take the oppo apart if given half a chance and will do so with wit and charm... something that has too often been lacking from both sides of the house.
The argument that Gove isn't ready for a portfolio like this is exactly the same as the argument that our candidates must all have put in 20 years as an activist to the detriment of their careers and families. Sure, in many cases that would be nice, although often it's not practical as the demands of many major firms today for travel and availability are so high. It does rather select for a particular type of person, though. Refusing the opportunity to use top quality talent just because they've not worn enough of a hole in the green leather cushions yet seems to me to be a touch short-sighted.

[Innocent Abroad]

Wet (well I assume you are if you're in the middle of the ocean) -

your points apply equally to the other newbies, my point remains: why (out of all of them) Gove (and Toby E)? And if it's because Gove is head and shoulders above all the rest in terms of 'talent', let's just briefly look at his CV - white, straight, middle class, Oxbridge-educated, central London dwelling and working prior to parliament (you'd have to guess). OR --- exactly the sort of candidate Leader Dave tells us he wants to see less of in future. Except in his own closed little circle of course. One rule for him, another rule for everyone else. Welcome to the all new, old school Tory party.

BTW you say you're puzzled by the negativism. I was saddened by Gove's repeated (and for us as a party, very damaging) negativism in print about our former leaders William Hague and Ian Duncan Smith. Presumably, given his past form in this regard, Gove's hardly going to mind a few people sounding off on an obscure website, even if it is about his mate, who has just fast tracked him.

[Clare Lewis]

I do have to agree with some of the above sentiments. Gove doesn't really offer the frontbench anything that a more experienced and more loyal MP couldn't offer. Has Vaizey got anything?

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

Nothing for Justine Greening either I see.

[Smon C]

I share the bemusement at "Innocent Abroad's" attacks on Michael Gove. "Mid-Atlantic" is spot on about Gove's personal qualities.

"Innocent", I have noticed nothing Mandelsonian about Gove at all. Rather than resort to innuendo about some hidden agenda or set of ideas, why don't you just spell out what it is you are getting at? What are these terrible ideas that you think he has up his sleeve?

As for the suggestion that Gove has been promoted where other have not been - he is one of 5 new shadow ministers from this year's intake - 6 if you include Teresa Villiers. Why single Gove out from all the others who have been promoted?

Since he was selected as a candidate and an MP, Gove has done nothing to warrant accusations of disloyalty. Before then he was earning his living as a jobbing columnist on the Times. The idea that he had to be slavishly uncritical of the Party in that position flies in the face of reality. Besides which, in every other form of life, good friends need to be able to make honest criticism without fearing accusations of disloyalty.

[John Hustings]

I'm glad Tim Yeo and Nicholas Soames got nothing (I think that's right, isn't it?)

[Simon C]

Sorry - it should have been 7 members of the new intake - David Mundell was appointed to Shadow SofS for Scotland as well.

[James Hellyer]

No job for Geoffrey Cox :-(

[Frank Young]

Will Malcolm Rifkind head up the soon to be created "security" policy group, seeing as ex-cabinet secretaries seem to be in vogue...

[Coxy]

Not likely Frank - Malc's anti-war stance leaves him wide open to 'soft-on-terror' accusations.

Peter: "I don't think the Clarke supporters will be to pleased?"
-sorry, didn't realise there were any Clarke supporters left nowadays??

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"Will Malcolm Rifkind head up the soon to be created "security" policy group, seeing as ex-cabinet secretaries seem to be in vogue..."

"Not likely Frank - Malc's anti-war stance leaves him wide open to 'soft-on-terror' accusations."

What about the global justice (or whatever it was called) policy group?

[a-tracy]

What position did John Redwood get?

[James Hellyer]

John Redwood is Chairman of the Party's Economic Competitiveness Policy Group.

So at least one task force is in a safe pair of hands...

[tory_worker]

I think it is very unfortunate that Nick Gibb has been appointed for the school reform position. He has been very critical of vouchers and increased private provision in education.

The clique around Cameron appear to have decided what they think about what the party's policy on tax and public services should be some time ago. And with the exception of police reform it is remarkably similar to that of the Labour Party.

[Michael McGowan]

If Nick Gibb is in charge of school reform, then I think we should conclude that for the time being there will be no school reform. Still there's a long way to go until 2009 so maybe, just maybe they will wake up to the fact that tax, spend, waste and fail is not the way forward. Perhaps we can also look forward to seeing less of Mr Gibb slagging off his Party in the pages of the Guardian and the Independent and telling us that the only way forward is the social democrat way.

[Coxy]

Or maybe, Michael, the social democrat way is our new way forward?

"Change to Win!"

[Editor]

John Redwood is Chairman of the Party's Economic Competitiveness Policy Group.

Is that confirmed? I know he is a member of the Group. I'm not sure that he's its Chairman. But you're right, James, he would be a very safe pair of hands. He's certainly a low tax champion.

[James Hellyer]

Will this do as confirmation?

[a-tracy]

I hope John Redwood is Chairman I dashed off and sent in my 500 word two-penneth to the policy committee.

[tory_worker]

It's a way of buying off Redwood, not some sort of latter day conversion to lower tax. Letwin will just take the ideas he likes, and decline the ones that don't.

The Right is being asked to accept a focus on deregulation in return for goinbg to the election not offering tax cuts. They would be stupid to accept a deal on those terms.

[James Hellyer]

You make Letwin sound like Dictator of Policy rather than Director of Policy!

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

Unless I've missed something, Bercow has been completely passed over for an appointment. What a pity.

[James Hellyer]

I'm sure The Monday Club will need a new cleaner at some stage.

[tory_worker]

Well there was Bercow's "Eton, hunting, shooting and lunch at Whites" outburst during the leadership election.

Bercow was right but can hardly now expect to be rewarded for saying it.

[malcolm]

Is the Monday Club still in existance?I've heard nothing about it for years.

[James Hellyer]

Indeed it does, Malcolm.

[tory_worker]

"You make Letwin sound like Dictator of Policy rather than Director of Policy!"

Do you seriously believe there is going to be a collegiate view taken about key aspects of party policy eg Redwood will be listened to if he says tax cuts should be in the party's election manifesto?

[James Hellyer]

"Do you seriously believe there is going to be a collegiate view taken about key aspects of party policy?"

Do I believe there will? No. Do I believe there should be as Cameron has no mandate for policies? Yes.

[tory_worker]

"Do I believe there will? No. Do I believe there should be as Cameron has no mandate for policies? Yes."

Fair enough. We are in agreement. Some of the naivite about how policy will be decided uner Cameron is pretty amazing I think.

[Mycroft Holmes]

Interesting. Someone calling themselves 'Sceptic' makes an anti-Gove observation relating to his supposed disloyalty to Hague and IDS. Soon after, resident bile merchant 'Innocent Abroad' says "BTW you say you're puzzled by the negativism. I was saddened by Gove's repeated (and for us as a party, very damaging) negativism in print about our former leaders William Hague and Ian Duncan Smith."

So Sceptic is a cover name for Innocent Abroad. But who is IA?

Anyone who studies IA's previous posts on Conservative Home and who is also familiar with a late, unlamented right-wing website will recognise uncanny stylistic similarities.

What positive contribution to the Tory cause has the editor of that website ever made?

Not a lot. But, like a dog in search of a lampost, he chooses to vent his spleen on Michael Gove, a man whose character and intellect are far superior to his own.

[Clare Lewis]

I have always disliked Michael Gove. I used to cringe at his moralising on the Radio 4 show 'The Moral Maze' which he participated with Melanie Philips (don't get me started....) on. He should not be walking straight onto the front bench, nor should Villiers. Why didn't Dominic Grieve get a Shadow Cabinet job? He is a wonderful front bencher performer and deserved it more than Villiers. Oh! I forgot - he isn't part of the inner circle.

[howard Stevenson]

Seems to me that Cameron has got a good balance of talent in the cabinet. I also think that he will be more right wing than we think. Davies certainly seems to have warmed to him during the leadership contest, as the Editors review piece pointed out.

[Selsdon Man]

Lord Luke appointed as Shadow Defence Secretary!! See shadow ministers section of "People" on party website. Fox sacked already?

[James Hellyer]

Or a CCO cock up.

Can't get the staff, you know.

[Joe Watson]

Clare Lewis asks "Why didn't Dominic Grieve get a Shadow Cabinet job?"

Because he didn't deserve it. Grieve has been the principal supporter of Blair's toxic Human Rights Act on the Conservative benches. How many vile leftist rulings have been handed down by politicised judges in the name of HRA? THe act empowers them to defy Parliament and enact a left wing agenda the British people would never vote for.

Grieve's complicity in defending the HRA is outrageous. Thank goodness his career has now stalled.

[Ed R]

Gove's always seemed very impressive, although I wonder if he's got a bit of a "Tory Boy" image. I'm sure he'll be a hugely effective minister in government one day. Yes, he's a friend of Cameron but on the flip side but one assumes there's a reason he's a friend of Cameron. Appointing talented like-minded people to positions is sensible -- not exclusively of course, and there's plenty of other groups represented here. Pleased to see Mark Harper there. Astonished to see Andrew Rosindell -- not someone I would have expected to get into a Cameron frontbench at all, even in the most junior position.

No Julie Kirkbride, Shailesh Vara and Adam Afriyie is conspicuous. I don't think they deserve places without merit, but then again all three struck me as pretty impressive. I'll be interested to see if they get jobs elsewhere, perhaps on the policy units.

[cfox]

"Astonished to see Andrew Rosindell -- not someone I would have expected to get into a Cameron frontbench at all, even in the most junior position."

The Whips Office is to keep him quiet and loyal.

[Clare Lewis]

It looks like DD picked his own Home Affairs team. He has a bright loyal team there, or perhaps it is keeping his loyal supporters close in case another leadership campaign is needed in a few years?

[MattSimpson]

Tory leader David Cameron's desire to feminise the party had a hollow ring to it among friends of Julie Kirkbride today.

The Bromsgrove MP was a backer of David Davis, yet had been expected to get a job on the new front bench.

MPs have been told that the reason Ms Kirkbrie was left out was because she "has young children" to look after.

"So much for the new era under non-sexist Cameron" muttered one Tory.

[MattSImpson]

Apologies - meant to say the above info was from tonight's Evening Standard.

[Richard Weatherill]

Going back to the Editor's original request, I've just seen some pretty good coverage of Dave C and the Shadow Cabinet meeting in Birmingham on Central News.

[Cllr Iain Lindley]

Kirkbride was doing some pretty impressive grovelling on Five Live as the results were announced. Too little, too late evidently...

[A H Matlock]

That is a pity. I do think she deserved at least a junior portfolio.

[Frank Young]

At the risk of being rude she made her decision to back Davis when it looked an absolute cert that he would win. She is an unlikely ally of "the right" and for that reason i suspect she was willing to be used, as she was, by the davis camp in return for a plummy job. Hard cheese her, I have little sympathy.

[Goldie]

So, to recap, notably no frontbench jobs for:

Julie Kirkbride
Ed Vaizey
Ann Widdecombe
Derek Conway
John Bercow
Tim Yeo
John Redwood
Richard Spring
Andrew Tyrie
Peter Luff

Anyone missing?

[A H Matlock]

Goldie - Redwood was appointed to head one of the policy commissions, as was Ken Clarke. Not Shadow Cabinet level, but still fairly important.

[Rob]

Goldie- others missing are Shailesh Vara, Justine Greening and Adam Afiyie, all were of media focus in the immidiate aftermath of the election anyway.

[Goldie]

Yes, but Redwood was nonetheless booted from the frontbech and I doubt that's what he wanted.

I didn't include 'the class of 2005' because it's not strange for such new MPs not to be promoted to the frontbench immediately, the contrary being the case.

[wasp]

Widdecombe is retiring.

[Peter]

Coxy you tell that to the other 37mps who supported him.

[Jonathan Sheppard]

The following are now Vice Chaimen:-

Justine Greening MP (Youth)
Margot James (Women)
Grant Shapps MP (Campaigning)
Sayeeda Warsi (Cities)

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"So Sceptic is a cover name for Innocent Abroad. But who is IA?

Anyone who studies IA's previous posts on Conservative Home and who is also familiar with a late, unlamented right-wing website will recognise uncanny stylistic similarities."

According to Michael Smithson (a known Liberal Democrat) at PoliticalBetting.com, Innocent Abroad is actually a chap called Mike Killingworth. Given the fact that the so-called Innocent Abroad fraternises openly with confirmed Liberal Democrats, are we to assume this is where his true political allegiance lies and that we have a Lib Dem troll masquerading as a Conservative in our midst? I hope not, as IA's new blog has taken on the non-Cameronite mantle from the blog I used to edit.

[Sean Fear]

I think that more than one person calls himself "Innocent Abroad."

[Goldie]

The appointment of Damian Green as Immigration minister is a mistake.

Green is a whet.

Does this signal yet another Cameron capitulation?

[Richard]

"Unless I've missed something, Bercow has been completely passed over for an appointment. What a pity."

Bercow wrote an article in the Independent criticising Tory immigration policy in 2005 even though it had the most public backing.

He comes across as a rather patronising moderniser who gives the impression of sneering at traditional Tories.

[a-tracy]

Give Damian Green time Goldie, when he was Transport Minister the subject was in the media and being discussed, he raised the profile of the Industry and began to create changes in attitudes to speed cameras being used as cash generators rather than safety cameras to alert people of dangerous areas. He argued for clear road signs to slow people down naturally and forced the government to listen.