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