23 January 2009
By Tash Shifrin
Caroline Spelman has been appointed shadow communities and local government secretary in Conservative leader David Cameron's reshuffle.
The shake-up means Spelman goes back to the post she held between 2004 and 2007 and will oversee publication of the delayed local government green paper. Eric Pickles, the previous incumbent, has been promoted to Conservative Party chair – Spelman's old job.
Former chancellor Ken Clarke has returned to the frontbench as shadow business secretary in an attempt to boost the Tories' economic team.
While Spelman has experience of the local government brief, she also remains under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over the employment of a member of staff at the public's expense in 1999.
The case centres on whether the employee was a secretary, who could legitimately be paid from Spelman's parliamentary allowance, or a children's nanny, who should not have been paid in this way.
Cameron has also promoted Chris Grayling to the post of shadow home secretary, while previous incumbent Dominic Grieve becomes shadow justice secretary. Theresa May takes on the shadow cabinet brief for work and pensions as well as being shadow minister for women.
Alan Duncan, the former shadow business secretary, becomes shadow leader of the house and Nick Herbert takes on the food and rural affairs brief.
PFjan2009
