Cameron gets the band back together: Ex-No10 aide Laura Trott joins her old boss in Cabinet as Rishi Sunak promotes mother-of-three to top Treasury position… meaning three former advisers to the ex-PM are now at the top of Government

Laura Trott’s promotion to Chief Secretary to the Treasury in today’s reshuffle is the latest marking point in her rapid political rise.

The Sevenoaks MP has been in Parliament for less than four years – having first been elected at the 2019 general election – but now finds herself attending Cabinet.

When the 38-year-old sits around the Cabinet table for the first time she will see her old boss – former prime minister David Cameron – sat near her.

It follows the ex-premier’s shock return to Government as Foreign Secretary after seven years away from Westminster.

But Mr Cameron’s won’t be the only familiar face, as her old colleagues Oliver Dowden and Richard Holden – both former aides to the ex-PM – are also now part of Rishi Sunak’s top team.

Laura Trott’s promotion to Chief Secretary to the Treasury in today’s reshuffle is the latest marking point in her rapid political rise

The Sevenoaks MP has been in Parliament for less than four years – having first been elected at the 2019 general election – but now finds herself attending Cabinet

When the 38-year-old sits around the Cabinet table for the first time she will see her old boss – former prime minister David Cameron – sat near her

Ms Trott’s political career began at CCHQ where she served as a political adviser for more than a year before the 2010 general election.

After the Tories won power and entered coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, Ms Trott – who was born in Oxted, Surrey – then joined the Cabinet Office as a special adviser.

But it wasn’t long until she was drafted into Mr Cameron’s Downing Street operation – first as head of education and family policy in No10’s policy unit, and later as director of strategic communications.

During this time, she will have worked alongside now Deputy Prime Minister Mr Dowden, who was No10’s deputy chief of staff under David Cameron.

She will also have crossed paths with Mr Holden, now Conservative Party chairman, who was Tory deputy head of press between 2012 and 2015.

When Mr Cameron quit as PM, following his defeat in the 2016 EU referendum, Ms Trott also left No10.

She became a director at Portland, a political consultancy and PR agency, for two years at the same time as pursuing her ambition to join the House of Commons.

When Sir Michael Fallon, the former defence secretary, announced he would not seek re-election at the 2019 general election, Ms Trott was chosen as the Conservative candidate in Sevenoaks.

She retained the historically safe Tory seat for the party with a 20,000-vote majority. 

Mr Cameron has made a shock return to Government as Foreign Secretary after seven years away from Westminster

Oliver Dowden (right) and Richard Holden (left) also both worked for Mr Cameron when he was in No10 and are now part of Rishi Sunak ‘s top team

After entering Parliament, Ms Trott – a mother-of-three who is married to Bahador Mahvelati, a partner at PwC – swiftly joined the Commons health and social care committee as it scrutinised the Government’s actions during the Covid crisis.

She then ventured towards a career in Government herself, but quit as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Transport as Boris Johnson’s administration collapsed amid the Chris Pincher scandal. 

Ms Trott became an early supporter of Mr Sunak’s bid to replace Mr Johnson as PM.

When he did eventually reach No10 – after Liz Truss’s short spell as premier – Mr Sunak gave Ms Trott her first ministerial role as he appointed her to the Department for Work and Pensions.

She has now been rewarded for her work as pensions minister with the position of Chief Secretary to the Treasury – the second most senior role in Whitehall’s most powerful department.

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