Other appointments include Grant Shapps, who is in charge of Energy Security and Net Zero, Michelle Donelan, who is in charge of Science, Innovation and Technology, Kemi Badenoch, in control of Business and Trade, while Lucy Frazer is Culture, Media and Sport.
Commenting on his new position, Hands tweeted: ‘I joined the Party in 1986 – a ward chairman in 1992, a councillor in 1998, a group leader in 1999, an MP in 2005, a minister in 2011 – an honour to chair it in 2023! The work starts right away.’
So who is Greg Hands, the new Nadhim Zahawi?
Born in 1965 to British parents in New York City, Hands grew up in the UK, and completed his education at Dr Challoner’s Grammar school in Amersham – now one of the leading grammar schools in the country. He took a gap year, where he worked in a swimming pool in Berlin – a deep dive which cultivated his interest in the political divisions across Germany – which he subsequently visited on other occasions.
Nadhim Zahawi
Leon Neal/Getty Images
He went on to attend Robinson College, Cambridge, aka the ‘red brick jungle’ to students. There, he was on the Executive Committee for the Cambridge Union, which is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious Committees to sit on at the University, with rigorous rounds of ‘hustings’ before appointment.
Hands joined Parliament in 2005, and in 2010 was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the Chelsea and Fulham parliamentary constituency. Over his time at Parliament, he has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy under four prime ministers, and as Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth from 2021 to 2022.
Beyond his work in Parliament, Hands is often seen in Chelsea, and at community events at the local church, St Simon Zelotes. ‘He’s got good community involvement,’ one Chelsea resident commented.
Commenting on Hands’s new appointment, a Tory insider told Tatler: ‘No one really seems to have strong opinions on him. Someone had to take the job, and he seemed like a safe pick, he’s a generic Tory: fairly uncontroversial, gets on with the job, doesn’t rebel.’
Another commented: ‘His whole purpose is probably to herald a new age of integrity. As long as he doesn’t commit tax fraud, he’ll be doing better than Zahawi, but a change of cabinet so close to the election is risky business for Rishi as Prime Minister’.
