My Analysis of the Tory Reshuffle

The key thing in any reshuffle is to put the right people in the right jobs. By that measure, this morning's shuffle has drastically improved things in the Shadow Cabinet. There are now very few square pegs in round holes.

Obviously the return of Ken Clarke will get the headlines, but some of the other changes are potentially very significant. I would highlight the move of Nick Herbert to Environment, Food & Rural Affairs as one. Peter Ainsworth made very little impact with this brief so a change needed to be made. Nick Herbert's background on countryside issues will stand him in good stead and together with Jim Paice, he will hopefully make a lot of headway on the issue of agriculture and food. The 'green' side of the job is now predominantly under the remit of Greg Clark, but he and Clark are known to get on and work well together anyway, so that bodes well.

The promotion of Chris Grayling to replace Dominic Grieve is an interesting one. Dominic will now replace Nick Herbert at Justice, which although he may feel slightly disappointed by, is where he will feel very much at home. Cameron clearly felt that a more attacking style was needed in Home Affairs, and while many were pressing him to restore David Davis to the job, it was frankly never going to happen. Grayling's attacking style is needed in that job, and I hope he will still have a licence to take the Labour Party to task more generally too.

Eric Pickles, always the Party Members' choice for Party Chairman has got his wish. He needs to hit the ground running and clearly define the role. If George Osborne is to continue to manage general election preparations then Pickles' role is twofold - to gee up the troops and get on the media at every available opportunity. Eric may have a face for radio, but he's got the Ken Clarke 'normal bloke' appeal and needs to create the highest media profile possible - and his colleagues should not feel jealous by it - they should welcome it.

Alan Duncan's loyalty is rewarded by a move to be Shadow Leader of the House, a job he should relish. It also gives him licence to move across a number of policy areas and to become a further Shadow Minister for the Today programme.

Caroline Spelman's return to the local government brief might seem odd, as she has been there before, from 2004 to 2007. But she knows the territory and was thought to have handled the subject well in the past. And Theresa May is moving to Work & Pensions. In some ways this is the strangest move of the entire reshuffle, but I imagine the Tories want to present a softer face on this issue as it moves up the political agenda. Theresa will do a very good job.

So all in all, this was a reshuffle with only one headline which the electorate will take any notice of, but that's a good thing. It has also been conducted extremely smoothly so far, although I suspect there is going to be a lot more blood letting and gnashing of teeth among the middle and lower ranks later today.