After she took over as leader of the Tory Party almost two years ago – seeing off challenges from James Cleverly, Mel Stride and Priti Patel – Kemi Badenoch pledged not to hold a reshuffle before the next general election.
Part of her reasoning was to mollify the disappointed big beasts who could have tried to topple her in her first few stumbling months as leader.
That she has now broken her pledge and ruthlessly dispatched Stride and Patel – as well as preventing other old Tory veterans such as Grant Shapps from returning as MPs – shows, insiders say, that she is finally strong enough to create a top team in her own mould.
Scottish students discover 1,000-year-old Viking church
Students discovered the remains of what is thought to be a medieval Viking church about 1,000 years old during an archaeology field trip to an uninhabited Scottish island.
Where was the medieval site found?
Pupils from Gordonstoun, a private school once attended by the King, made the discovery on a six-day field trip to Swona, a tiny Orkney island about seven miles north of John O’Groats where only feral cattle live.
The medieval building bears similarities to other Viking churches from the 10th and 11th centuries. Its remains, including what is thought to be the foundation of its altar, were found beneath a more recent building.
How was it found?
The Gordonstoun team helped professional archaeologists from the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (Orca) to uncover the remains.
Gordonstoun housemaster Dan McLean, who organised the trip, said: “The only real hint about a church being on the island is a map reference to a ruin known locally as the ‘Twinly Kirk.’”
After discovering a step leading to the possible church altar, the group found other clues regarding construction method, layout and orientation.
Another clue was that it was dry stone, and there was no clay bonding or mortar. There are also cairns nearby and a wall that blocks access to a landing point.
dan mclean, gordonstoun housemaster
More conclusions to come?
- Radiocarbon dating of the students’ samples could draw more conclusions about the structure.
- The pupils also explored a probable prehistoric settlement in the centre of the small, privately-owned island.
- Elsewhere, they investigated a circular ditch believed to have been the site of a Viking warning beacon.
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UK POLITICS
Mayor hopeful Cleverly swipes at Reform on London crime
Sir James Cleverly has said mayoral candidates cannot “credibly” stand for election to run London while “obviously” hating the city, in remarks that will be interpreted as a swipe at Reform UK.
Battle for the capital
The former home secretary, who has announced he’s stepping down as shadow housing secretary to bid for the Conservative nomination for London mayor, made the comments when asked about claims from Reform’s mayoral candidate, Laila Cunningham, that the capital is unsafe.
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Is London safe?
Cunningham said this week that her children are “petrified” to visit Shepherd’s Bush following a stabbing, and has frequently characterised London as gripped by crime, telling The i Paper last year that there are “no safe parts” in the capital.
Asked directly about her comments, Cleverly told The i Paper: “I’m not here to talk about her. Let her talk about her and let her justify her statements.”
Cleverly on London crime
- Cleverly argued responsibility for crime in London lay with the current mayor, Lord Khan of Tooting.
- He said the capital’s performance on crime was “an outlier” in the UK while he was home secretary.
- Cleverly went on to criticise those who often depict London as afflicted by crime.
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I don’t think you can credibly be the candidate for mayor of London if you obviously hate the city you’re trying to get elected for. I love London. I’m unapologetic about that.
james cleverly
Reform: Cleverly is ‘out
of touch’
- A Reform UK spokesperson said Cleverly was “out of touch”.
- If “James Cleverly thinks crime is not an issue in London then he’s even more out-of-touch than we originally thought”, they said.
- The spokesperson added: “London needs a mayor that is realistic about the issues the city faces, not one that will turn a blind eye to them.”
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US and Iran trade strikes in first hostilities for weeks
The United States and Iran have traded strikes for the first time since late July, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Here’s what we know.
Where did the US strike?
US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, with Central Command claiming the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines.
News outlets in Iran reported explosions near Larak island.
Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform of the bombing of the Kharg Island oil hub, claiming it’s “going to be blown to smithereens!”.
What was Iran’s response?
Later, Iranian state TV showed what it said were ballistic missiles being fired by Iran at US bases in Jordan in response to the American strikes. Jordan’s military said it intercepted eight missiles in the country’s airspace early Monday.
The UAE air force also intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters, the country’s defence ministry said.
US ‘eliminated’ Iran’s threat
- The US disputed Iran’s claim that its strikes were an act of aggression.
- “Iran created the threat and the US military eliminated it,” Centcom said.
- This was “to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce” in the Strait of Hormuz, it added.
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Return to open conflict?
Since last confirming it had struck Iranian targets on 29 July, the US had turned its focus to increasing economic pressure in a bid to end the months-long war.
A return to open conflict would be dangerous for the region, where Iran has targeted US military bases and infrastructure in Gulf countries since the fighting began on 28 February.
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Thousands of prisoners set for early release
Thousands of prisoners are set for an early release as part of controversial Government plans to ease jail overcrowding.
Here’s what we know.
Cutting the numbers
About 5,000 prisoners were due to be released early from October, down from 6,000, after ministers intervened to block rapists and “serious” child sex offenders from being eligible.
Under further changes announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Sunday, several hundred more criminals will now be exempt from the early release scheme.
More exemptions
- Anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter, is now ineligible.
- The exemption extends to those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving or allowing the death of a child.
- Grooming gang perpetrators will also be blocked from early release amid concerns about a potential loophole in the system.
The unlawful killing exemption means two men tied to the killing of PC Andrew Harper will remain behind bars after backlash over their initial eligibility for early release.
Burnham also confirmed the Government will seek to end imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs), releasing offenders previously assessed to pose a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public.
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What are IPPs?
IPPs, available between 2005 and 2012, meant offenders given such a sentence could only be released once the Parole Board determined they no longer posed a threat. They essentially meant some offenders could be held indefinitely; several hundred still were as of June 2026.
More than 2,000 IPP offenders are in jail, including 1,415 who were recalled to prison.
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Potential problems
However, Labour’s justice minister Jake Richards warned MPs in January that abolishing IPP sentences retrospectively “would result in prisoners being released whom the independent Parole Board has determined are too dangerous”.
Meanwhile, Sir David Gauke, the ex-Tory justice secretary who helped Labour craft the early release scheme, has warned that freeing IPP prisoners could be even riskier than releasing killers and rapists early.
Patel to be replaced by Tugendhat in Tory reshuffle
Ex-Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat is set to replace senior Conservative Dame Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary, it has emerged.
New international role for Patel
Dame Priti said she would now look to strengthen Tory links with global centre-right and fellow conservative parties through a new “international role”.
Tugendhat, her reported replacement in Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet, returns to the frontbenches, having previously served as security minister under former Tory prime ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
China hawk Tugendhat
- Patel called for stronger action to protect the UK from threats posed by China, Iran and Russia.
- Tugendhat is one of the most hawkish MPs on China and has campaigned against plans for the new super embassy in London.
- He has been on the backbenches since a failed Tory leadership campaign in 2024.
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Tory reshuffle continues
The move comes as part of Tory leader Badenoch’s impending reshuffle of her frontbench, with the role of shadow housing, communities and local government secretary also vacant after Sir James Cleverly quit to run for London mayor.
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Weekend lie-in may be good for your health
Having a lie-in at the weekend may actually have health benefits, new research suggests.
Here’s what we know.
No shame for sleeping in
Researchers from Korea University gathered data on 41,000 adults over a seven-year study, measuring participants’ “catch-up” sleep at the weekend as well as their blood pressure and level of physical activity.
One key takeaway, the team said, was that people should not feel “lazy or guilty” for staying in bed a little longer at the weekend.
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Weekend slumber: facts and figures
Blood pressure boost
1 h 27 min
The study showed one to two hours extra sleep helped maintain good health.
Sleeping for an extra hour and 27 minutes resulted in .
9%
This amount of extra sleep was linked to a nine per cent less chance of high blood pressure.
The study also found any level of extra sleep on the weekend was linked to a six per cent lower likelihood of high blood pressure.
But don’t overdo it…
When weekend catch-up sleep becomes excessive, the degree of sleep irregularity and circadian disruption may increase, which could offset that benefit.
Dr Nawton Lee, korea university
A common problem
It comes as one in three adults in Britain have high blood pressure, or hypertension. The average British adult also records less than the NHS-recommended seven to nine nightly hours of sleep.
Despite being symptomless, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
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Cleverly, meanwhile, stood down on Saturday to run for Mayor of London in two years’ time – hardly a display of confidence in his Parliamentary career prospects.
In January 2025, Badenoch’s spokesman was asked whether shadow Chancellor Mel Stride could expect to remain in his job for the next four years. “Yes,” he said.
Asked whether the same guarantee applied to the whole shadow cabinet, he again said yes.
Six months later, Badenoch reshuffled. Now, just over a year after that first overhaul, she has done it again but with no regard to the big names she is demoting.
Reform UK says her shadow cabinet reshuffle exposes a leader who cannot keep her word. Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman and a former Conservative Party member, seized on the contradiction after the changes were announced on Monday, accusing Badenoch on Twitter of being a “con artist” and pointing out that she had explicitly promised last year not to reshuffle her shadow cabinet.
Tories are stuck
But beneath the show of strength is a more uncomfortable reality: the Conservatives are treading water in the shallow end of the polls.
“It’s partly because the Tories are stuck in the polls and can’t budge forward, so they hope a refreshed team will do it. Only time will tell,” one Tory source said.
The latest BMG poll for The i Paper, published this weekend, puts Labour on 27 per cent, Reform on 23 per cent and the Conservatives on just 18 per cent. The Tories remain in third place, four points behind Reform and nine points behind Labour.
The contradiction for Badenoch is that her personal ratings are improving. The same poll gives her a net rating of zero – hardly a ringing endorsement, but a marked improvement on Rishi Sunak’s nadir of minus 44 and not far behind Andy Burnham’s plus six.
It is rare for any party leader to be in positive numbers.
And that creates the central problem for Badenoch. If the leader is becoming less of an issue but the party is not gaining in the polls, then what – or who – is holding the Conservatives back?
Inside the party, some believe the answer is the shadow cabinet. And if there is one lesson every opposition party knows, it is that elections are ultimately won or lost on the economy.
Biggest casualty of Badenoch’s reshuffle is Stride
So it was telling that the biggest casualty of Badenoch’s reshuffle is the man who had been responsible for selling the Conservatives’ economic case for almost two years. Mel Stride has been sacked as shadow chancellor and replaced by Andrew Griffith.
The former shadow business secretary and former chief operating officer of Sky and chairman of Just Eat will now lead a new Economic Leadership Team designed to put growth at the centre of the Conservatives’ offer.
Claire Coutinho becomes his deputy, as well as shadow Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Secretary, while Richard Fuller stays as shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, focused on fiscal discipline.
Julia Lopez will stand in for Coutinho, who is expecting her second child, while she is on maternity leave until the New Year.
Griffith said he and Badenoch were “united” in believing Britain needed an “economic revolution”, promising to bring his business experience to bear, cut taxes and regulation and back the “wealth creators” who deliver growth, investment and jobs.
The party is selling Griffith as a “no-nonsense, pro-growth” chancellor with genuine private-sector experience and extensive business contacts. Coutinho, meanwhile, is being brought into the heart of the economic operation, with her background at Merrill Lynch and KPMG and her experience as energy secretary being presented as evidence that she can turn complicated economic policy into something voters can understand.
It is the clearest signal yet that Badenoch intends to make the economy the centrepiece of her next election pitch.
Stride, meanwhile, leaves the shadow cabinet with warm words from his party leader.
Badenoch praised his “experience, seriousness and stability” while Stride was equally gracious and said he was proud of what his team had achieved. He will now return to the backbenches.
‘Mel hasn’t waded in on big things’
But behind the scenes, the verdict is less flattering.
“Mel isn’t well liked across the party and hasn’t really waded in on big things,” one senior insider said.
There was, however, a significant qualification. Stride has only expanded his political operation in the past eight weeks, bringing in three political advisers, or PADs.
That feeds into a much broader complaint inside the party: that some shadow ministers have been expected to make an impact without the political machinery needed to do it.
“What I will say is those that are being shuffled out haven’t been able to make an impact because they’ve had no PADs,” the insider said. “Unless the party brings in people, it’ll be the same again.”
The changes to Badenoch’s top team began to take shape on Saturday when James Cleverly announced that he was leaving the shadow cabinet to run for London mayor.
The move was widely expected. Cleverly had been lobbied about the potential opportunity for months, according to insiders, particularly as it became increasingly clear that Badenoch was not going anywhere as her performance as leader improved.
The current London mayor, Lord Sadiq Khan, has yet to confirm whether he will seek a fourth term, while Labour figures including Dawn Butler, David Lammy and Rosena Allin-Khan are already being discussed as potential successors. Reform has already selected Laila Cunningham as its London mayoral candidate.
For the Conservatives, the contest could become an important test of whether they can compete with Reform in one of the country’s most politically significant regions.
The news was swiftly followed on Sunday night by the announcement that Priti Patel was being removed as shadow foreign secretary and replaced by Tom Tugendhat. Patel will instead take on an international role focused on strengthening links with sister centre-right parties.
One senior insider described Tugendhat’s appointment as evidence of “square pegs for square holes” – a sign that Badenoch was now putting people into roles according to their strengths rather than factional considerations.
Badenoch has moved on from factional hires
Another was more blunt about Patel’s demotion. “She seemed to get hit with the Boriswave label every time she stuck her head above the parapet,” the source said.
Both her move and the sacking of Stride have raised eyebrows within the party given the broadside that Robert Jenrick (who lost in the head-to-head against Badenoch two years ago) launched against them when he defected to Reform in January last year. He blamed Stride for the “explosion of the welfare bill” and accused Patel of failing to get a grip on illegal immigration.
On Monday, Stuart Andrew became the third senior figure to leave the frontbench, announcing he was stepping down as shadow health secretary after almost a decade in frontbench roles.
Chris Philp, meanwhile, survived. There had been speculation that the shadow Home Secretary could be moved, with his performance and future role the subject of considerable chatter inside the party.
One insider said Philp “gets shat on from colleagues who think they can do it better”, but added that he “works hard” and had begun to get some traction on illegal immigration.
The reshuffle has also prompted intense speculation about who might be promoted. Badenoch was expected to use the changes to bring through a younger generation of Conservatives, with Andrew Bowie, Harriet Cross, Katie Lam, Jack Rankin and Robbie Moore among the names being discussed for bigger roles.
In the run-up to her first anniversary, some shadow ministers were reportedly considering the “nuclear” option of resigning en masse to force a leadership contest.
At the same time, Badenoch’s team was given details of a 14-strong WhatsApp group of Conservative MPs plotting to oust her. The coup never happened.
Now, nearly two years into her leadership, Badenoch is finally behaving like a leader who believes she has survived the danger period.
Her supporters also see her as a leader who is now strong enough to choose her own team.