New Year Tory reshuffle |

Wednesday 5th January 2011 | 09:16

New Year Tory reshuffle

At last, a mini Tory reshuffle.

No, not of ministers, but of their press team.

Henry Macrory*, the former Daily Express and Daily Star lobby supremo, is leaving Downing Street to head back to CCHQ.

Henry, known affectionately as Uncle Percy by former colleagues (ask me another time), is to become Deputy Political Director at CCHQ and effectively the man running the party's media operations.

He will be replaced at Number 10 by Alan Sendorek, one of the Tories' most effective press officers who made his name working alongside David Cameron before the election.

Sendorek becomes Political Head of Press at Downing Street.

Both moves are smart and perhaps a response to Labour's own media team overhaul just before Christmas, when the Mirror's Bob Roberts and the Times' Tom Baldwin took over as Ed Miliband's top team - with pretty instant results.

But for Macrory the move away from the pressures of Number 10 will give him much needed time to plan something much more momentous than either job change - his own wedding.

Henry is to marry again and in characteristic style it's all been done with a bit of panache. The old romantic proposed to his partner at midnight on New Year's Eve and she said Yes.

Just to prove the wheels within wheels in politics, Henry first met his partner in 2009 on his first ever blind date. One of the key fixers was Jo Richards, David Cameron's former diary secretary, who also happens to be the daughter of the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards. Her best friend's mum was deemed to be the perfect match for the dashing Macrory..and the rest is kinda history.

The 'other woman' in Henry's life - the PM's political press secretary Gabby Bertin - will still be seeing plenty of him, however. Their old double act - they were often seen patrolling the Lobby corridors over the past four years - will certainly help strengthen ties between Number 10 and CCHQ.

As for the other reshuffle...we may have to wait a while.

PS. The decision - set to be announced by Andy Coulson soon - is also good news for Twitter. Macrory made his name before the election as an inveterate Tweeter but had to drop the account on his appointment to Number 10. Watch out as that shady press hat takes on new life.

*FOOTNOTE: The pic above shows Henry in action - he's the one in the centre - on a local election night. It was taken not by the PM's vanity snapper but by ConHome's Tim Montgomerie and captures the mood when the Cameron machine was on the march.

Leave a comment...

Anna

11:03 |
05 Jan 2011
0

Is Henry the one sitting down?

Jon Hudson

11:27 |
05 Jan 2011
Recommended
4

Good grief, this reads like a Court Circular. Too much info about a Tory with too much money to spend on a second wedding. Get a grip please.

David M

14:21 |
05 Jan 2011
Recommended
1

If this means that the juvenile tweets from the Lord Haw-Haw-esque Tory press HQ Twitter account will stop being so asinine, I suppose it's good news

LadyHyacinth

16:15 |
05 Jan 2011
Recommended
1

I can't believe it has taken this long to sort out was must be one of the worse communications departments any government has ever had and even now I don't feel inspired. Labour have been running rings round us for months, helped of course by a very biased BBC.

john ward

09:19 |
06 Jan 2011
0

Assuming Coulson lasts that long....NoW editor fired, celebs suing...truck, middle of road, etc etc etc http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/wikileaks-missile-to-show-fraudulent-boa-loans-on-massive-scale/

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