Kemi Badenoch has carried out a major reshuffle of her Shadow Cabinet, sacking Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride as she puts the Conservative Party on an election footing. The move comes as Andy Burnham returns to Westminster to face MPs for the first time as Prime Minister, with Badenoch warning he could call a snap election. She has also set up a Conservative Economic Unit aimed at strengthening the party's economic credibility and pushing growth and fiscal discipline as an alternative to what she characterises as Labour's tax-and-spend approach.

Andrew Griffith, a former Treasury minister, has been promoted to Shadow Chancellor, while Dame Priti Patel moves from Shadow Foreign Secretary to a new "international" role, replaced by Tom Tugendhat in a beefed-up post covering defence. Claire Coutinho switches from energy to business, acting as Griffith's deputy, with Julia Lopez covering for her during maternity leave, and Richard Fuller stays on as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury. Badenoch praised Stride's and Patel's contributions in steadying the party, while allies said the changes were designed to prepare a credible team to challenge Burnham's government, which faces a difficult economic backdrop including record debt-servicing costs.