Conservative Party Changes

News is coming through of David Caerons' reshuffle of the Conservative Front Bench and it is not, on the whole, very exciting. The main players, Messers Osborne, Davies, Hague, Fox, are staying put. So much for new thinking.

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Francis Maude is giving place to Caroline Spelman, which must be an improvement. David Willetts lost the schools brief, which is not altogether surprising given his enormous gaffe over the grammar schools. Michael Gove will probably be preferable.

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Nick Herbert takes over Justice and Owen Paterson Northern Ireland, an odd job, given the existence of the Assembly in Belfast but, should that break down again, there will be plenty of fireworks.

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Following the example set by Gordon Brown David Cameron is bringing in a couple of outsiders who will be given working peerages in order to be allowed onto the Shadow top team. One is Sayeeda Warsi, one of the party's vice- chairwomen with responsibilities for cities, is to take on the rather odd position of Shadow Spokesman on Communities or Community Cohesion. It is not quite clear which it is going to be. If it is Communities then she will be shadowing Hazel Blears, who is in the Commons. If it is Community Cohesion then it is, frankly, a non-job.

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Then there is Dame Pauline Neville-Jones. She is becoming advisor to the Conservative leader on security matters. Whether this means she will be the Shadow Homeland Security Spokesperson, effectively a non-job, or be given some other monniker is unclear at this time.

The anouncement of the UKIP candidate at the Sedgefield by-election will cause some upset in the Conservative Party ranks, now that is excting. Toby Horton the former Chairman of William Hague's Richmond (North Yorkshire) constiuency association defected to UKIP from the Conservative's last year. Mr Horton stood against Tony Blair back in 1983 - but as the Conservative Candidate. The change of party by Mr Horton is an illustration of how much the Coservative Party has changed in the past 24 years.