Who's Who In Kemi Badenoch's Inner Circle?
1 min read
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has finalised senior appointments to her backroom team which includes former minister Lee Rowley as her chief of staff and former Boris Johnson adviser Henry Newman as deputy.
Badenoch defeated Robert Jenrick to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative party leader and Leader of the Opposition (LOTO) earlier this month.
As well as appointing her first shadow cabinet, which included making senior Tory MPs Mel Stride and Priti Patel shadow chancellor and shadow foreign secretary respectively, Badenoch has been recruiting allies to her LOTO operation.
Lee Rowley, the ex-Conservative MP for North East Derbyshire, is her chief of staff. He was housing minister in the last Tory government before losing his seat in the July General election.
Newman, a former special advisor to Johnson and Michael Gove, will serve as deputy chief of staff.
Elsewhere, Robert Rams has been appointed as head of office, while Victoria Hewson, a former special adviser who worked in the Foreign Office and Northern Ireland Office, is Badenoch's head of policy.
Dylan Sharpe has been appointed as Badenoch's official spokesperson. He served as her media advisor while she served in cabinet under former prime minister Sunak.
Daniel El-Gamry, another former Badenoch special advisor, will act as head of engagement.
Other appointments include:
- Luke Gardiner - head of strategic initiatives
- James Roberts - political secretary
- Stephen Alton - deputy political secretary
- David Goss - private secretary
- Sonia Zvedeniuk - senior adviser
- Lottie Moore and Prue Chapman - advisers
The names and titles were not contested by LOTO when PoliticsHome asked for comment.
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