Osborne promoted to Shadow Chancellor
George Osborne has been promoted to Shadow Chancellor in Michael Howard’s reshuffle.
At only 33-years-old this is a huge promotion for the former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, long identified as one of the party’s rising stars.
No official reason for the departure of Oliver Letwin from the Treasury has been given but it is rumoured that he wanted to return to his lucrative banking job which would be incompatible with shadowing the treasury. He instead becomes Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
There is also a return to frontline politics to Sir Malcom Rifkind as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. The former Foreign Secretary lost his seat in 1997 and only returned this election in the safe Tory seat of Kensington and Chelsea.
This is likely to be a big post with incapacity benefit and the future of pensions likely to feature highly in this Parliament.
The post-election reshuffle was prompted by frontbenchers Tim Yeo and Nicholas Soames deciding to return to the backbenches and Tim Collins losing his parliamentary seat.
In other key moves, Dr Liam Fox moves from co-chairman to Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Willetts takes on the Productivity, Energy and Industry brief (formerly the DTI) and Francis Maude, Shadow Chancellor under William Hague, becomes party chairman.
One of the party’s other young stars, David Cameron, moves from his position as policy co-ordinator to education and Michael Ancram takes on the Defence portfolio.
The bookies’ leadership favourite, David Davis, stays at Home Affairs as does Andrew Lansley at health and David Lidington in Northern Ireland.
Alan Duncan becomes Shadow Transport Secretary, there is a big promotion for Chris Grayling as Shadow Leader of the House, David Maclean becomes chief whip and Theresa May takes over Culture, Media and Sport in addition to her role as family spokesperson.
Full list
Leader of the Opposition: Michael Howard
Deputy Leader and Shadow Secretary of State for Defence: Michael Ancram
Shadow Secretary of State for Education & Skills: David Cameron
Shadow Home Secretary: David Davis
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport: Alan Duncan
Shadow Foreign Secretary: Dr. Liam Fox
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons: Chris Grayling
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Philip Hammond
Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs: Oliver Heald
Shadow Secretary of State for Health: Andrew Lansley
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs: Oliver Letwin
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: David Lidington
Chief Whip: David Maclean
Chairman of the Conservative Party: Francis Maude
Shadow Secretary of State for the Family and for Culture, Media & Sport: Theresa May
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development: Andrew Mitchell
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer: George Osborne
Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation: John Redwood
Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions: Malcolm Rifkind
Shadow Secretary of State for Local & Devolved Government Affairs: Caroline Spelman
Leader of Opposition in the House of Lords: Lord Strathclyde
Shadow Secretary of State for Productivity, Energy & Industry: David Willetts
