RISHI Sunak has appointed an “interim” top Conservative team to shadow the new Labour government.
John Lamont, who had been a minister in the Scotland Office before the General Election, has been handed the shadow Scottish Secretary role.
Alister Jack, who had filled the role in government for the Tories, did not stand in the election and was handed a knighthood, but no peerage, for his services.
Elsewhere, Andrew Bowie, a Sunak loyalist and one of the five Tory MPs to be elected north of the Border, has been made shadow veterans minister.
Bowie served for three years in the Navy, but failed to pass navigational tests and was told to go to university before returning. He moved into politics instead, but rejoined as a paid reservist in 2022.
And Andrew Mitchell has become shadow foreign secretary, after former foreign secretary David Cameron resigned his party position following the election. Cameron remains a life peer in the Lords.
The full list of Sunak’s interim shadow Cabinet is as follows:
- Leader of the opposition – Rishi Sunak
- Deputy leader of the opposition and shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – Oliver Dowden
- Shadow chancellor of the exchequer – Jeremy Hunt
- Shadow secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs – Andrew Mitchell
- Shadow home secretary – James Cleverly
- Shadow secretary of state for defence – James Cartlidge
- Shadow secretary of state for justice – Ed Argar
- Shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology – Andrew Griffith
- Shadow health and social care secretary – Victoria Atkins
- Shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities – Kemi Badenoch
- Shadow secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs – Steve Barclay
- Shadow leader of the House of Commons – Chris Philp
- Shadow leader of the House of Lords – Nicholas True (Lord True)
- Shadow secretary of state for business and trade – Kevin Hollinrake
- Shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero – Claire Coutinho
- Shadow secretary of state for work and pensions – Mel Stride
- Shadow secretary of state for education – Damian Hinds
- Shadow secretary of state for transport – Helen Whately
- Shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport – Julia Lopez
- Shadow attorney general – Jeremy Wright
- Shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland – Alex Burghart
- Shadow secretary of state for Scotland – John Lamont
- Shadow secretary of state for Wales – Henry Davies (Lord Davies of Gower)
- Opposition chief whip – Stuart Andrew
- Shadow chief secretary to the treasury – Laura Trott
- Shadow paymaster general – John Glen
- Shadow security minister – Tom Tugendhat
- Shadow veterans minister – Andrew Bowie
- Shadow women and equalities minister – Mims Davies
- Opposition chief whip – Stuart Andrew
The new Tory shadow cabinet will only sit until Sunak has been replaced as party leader.
The former prime minister announced his resignation after dramatic General Election results saw the Conservatives return just 121 MPs.
The Scottish Tories will also be looking for a new leader after Douglas Ross resigned in the middle of the General Election campaign, and then lost the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat to the SNP.
