As MPs prepare to return to Westminster after the conference recess, the hope in 10 Downing Street is that the House of Commons will give way to calmer scenes than those at the tumultuous Conservative party conference in Birmingham. Given the number of Tory MPs lining up to rebel on various issues that may prove wishful thinking. However, overnight there has been a move by No. 10 aimed at beginning to restore party unity. Following the sacking of Conor Burns as a trade minister on Friday over allegations of serious misconduct at party conference, his successor has been named. Step forward Greg Hands.
Hands is viewed in No. 10 as a critical but supportive friend
Hands’s appointment is striking for a few reasons. As well as being an experienced minister, Hands was a key supporter of Rishi Sunak’s. Truss’s first reshuffle drew a lot of criticism from Tory MPs for not bringing enough Sunak backers and critics into the fold. While Sunak backer Michael Ellis was appointed Attorney General, many of his most prominent supporters – including Dominic Raab, Steve Barclay and Grant Shapps – were sent to the backbenches. The junior ministerial reshuffle saw a few more roles go to MPs from the other campaigns, with Sunak’s former PPS Claire Coutinho made a junior minister, yet MPs said it was not enough to count as reaching out. It’s meant there is little goodwill towards Truss in parts of the party. His appointment has been welcomed by Truss critics such as Shapps who billed it a ‘great appointment’ on social media.
By choosing someone with relevant experience who also did not support her in the leadership, Truss is sending a message that loyalty is not the only thing that counts in her government. Team Truss is trying to show that the Prime Minister is listening – and that there is a way back for all MPs so long as they approach it the right way.
‘He is a colleague who has challenged the Prime Minister in a constructive way,’ says a government aide. This comes after a week of near open warfare between the Michael Gove camp and No. 10 – with government aides angered over how Gove openly criticised Truss at the party conference.
Hands is viewed in No. 10 as a critical but supportive friend. On the Friday before conference, he met with the Prime Minister in Downing Street as part of her MP engagement to give his views on the current situation – where he gave Truss honest feedback that aides praise for being constructive. It follows that when a vacancy came up, he was the obvious appointment. Of course, one appointment isn’t going to fix the current Tory infighting – it’s not clear what could. But as Truss attempts to recalibrate after a turbulent start to her premiership that has led MPs to question how long she will last, it sends a message that she is listening to their complaints.
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