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Greg Hands: Rishi Sunak backer named new trade minister Liz Truss reaches out to MPs after Tory splits exposed
(about 5 hours later)
Greg Hands has been made a minister at the Department of International Trade following the sacking of Conor Burns. Liz Truss will hold a series of lunches with Tory MPs this week, as she tries to quell backbench unrest over her fledgling premiership.
Mr Hands had backed Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss's rival for prime minister. But his appointment comes amid calls for the Conservatives to unite following policy disagreements. Unease over the government's direction burst into the open at last week's party conference, which was blighted by internal division.
Ms Truss is due to hold a series of lunches with Tory MPs this week. Cabinet ministers have been calling for backbenchers to unite behind the PM.
Mr Hands said it was an "honour" and "privilege" to serve the government and thanked the PM for "the confidence". In bid to repair relations, she has given a government post to a backer of her ex-leadership rival Rishi Sunak.
The MP for Chelsea and Fulham, previously served as a trade minister when Boris Johnson and Theresa May were at No 10. He was most recently a minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Greg Hands has been appointed trade minister, replacing Conor Burns who was sacked last week after a misconduct complaint.
In a tweet, he said he was looking forward to being back at the Department of International Trade and working with International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch.
Get behind Truss, cabinet minister urges ToriesGet behind Truss, cabinet minister urges Tories
Burns sacked after touching man's thigh, witness says Chris Mason: Truss's next job is to turn off Tory fatalism
Minister Conor Burns sacked after misconduct claim What's happening in Parliament this week?
Mr Hands had supported Mr Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race, which ended in September with Ms Truss taking over as prime minister. Ms Truss entered No 10 last month after defeating Mr Sunak in a bruising leadership contest, and already faces potential rebellions on multiple fronts.
After arriving in Downing Street, Ms Truss removed all Sunak supporters from their cabinet positions including Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and George Eustice. But she later appointed some supporters of her defeated rival to positions in her junior team. Last week she was forced to abandon her plans to scrap the top rate of income tax, after a number of her MPs criticised the move as unfair.
Writing on Twitter, Mr Shapps, the former Transport Secretary, said "no one is more experienced and knowledgeable than Greg Hands on trade". She also faces the task of assuring them of her economic credibility, after her tax-cutting mini-budget sparked turmoil in the financial markets.
He said Mr Hands was a "welcome addition back to... government". There is also unease in the party over the idea she could decide not to raise working-age benefits in line with inflation, in a bid to rein in public spending.
The appointment follows appeals over the weekend by several cabinet ministers for the party to unite and rally behind Ms Truss after weeks of unrest over her policies. Work and pensions minister Victoria Prentis said a decision over the level of benefits would be taken later this autumn.
During the party's conference in Birmingham there have been interventions from former ministers and backbenchers forcing a U-turn over plans to scrap the top 45p rate of tax on the highest earners. Disagreements also emerged over calls to raise benefits in line with inflation. "It's really important to stress that no decision has been taken by any part of government," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said division would delay the government's growth plan and risk defeat at the next election. But the pressure continues, with former chancellor Sajid Javid saying that he believed benefits should stay in line with inflation.
"People are going through incredibly challenging times. We can all see that in our community," he said on Monday.
When a leader lets it be known they are in listening mode or words to that effect, it usually means there is already a 170 decibel political firework display well under way.
There is and it's volcanic.
The breakdown in discipline during the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham last week was extraordinary because of its breadth: nervous activists, jittery backbenchers and disloyal cabinet ministers.
So where do we find ourselves as MPs prepare to return to Westminster?
In the words of one senior figure: "This is a party that is unstoppable when it has the will to win. But the opposite is true too, when it decides it has a death wish."
Read more from Chris
With Parliament due to return on Tuesday, the prime minister will inaugurate a series of policy lunches with MPs from each region of the country this week.
She is also due to meet Tory MPs when she addresses the backbench 1922 committee this week.
The meetings come ahead of a busy few weeks for the government, as it unveils a series of measures designed to boost economic growth.
The changes to planning, immigration and childcare rules, among other areas, could prove an early test of Ms Truss's parliamentary support.
After arriving in Downing Street, Ms Truss removed Sunak supporters including Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and George Eustice from their cabinet positions.
She later appointed some supporters of her defeated rival to positions in her junior team.
Conor Burns was dismissed from his ministerial post on Friday after a complaint of serious misconduct. He denies any wrongdoing and says he looks forward to clearing his name.Conor Burns was dismissed from his ministerial post on Friday after a complaint of serious misconduct. He denies any wrongdoing and says he looks forward to clearing his name.
Mr Burns, who was also suspended as a Tory MP, was seen by eyewitnesses touching a young man's thigh at a hotel bar during the party's conference, the BBC has been told.Mr Burns, who was also suspended as a Tory MP, was seen by eyewitnesses touching a young man's thigh at a hotel bar during the party's conference, the BBC has been told.
Some of Liz Truss's Conservative critics have been making it clear that while they are not seeking to oust her, they want to see evidence of better decision making and more discussion with colleagues. Greg Hands was previously a trade minister under both Boris Johnson and Theresa May
In what was seen as an olive branch to supporters of her defeated opponent, Rishi Sunak, she made Greg Hands a trade minister.
And this week she will inaugurate a series of policy lunches with MPs from each region of the country.
If this is to be a charm offensive then it is crucial that her MPs feel more charmed rather than offended.
After a shaky start to her time in No 10, she will have to convince them that she is indeed in listening mode.
One of the touchy topics will be whether to increase benefits in line with inflation, or by the lower measure of earnings.
Some of her allies are convinced she will now look for other savings from the welfare budget, rather than take the political risk of cutting benefits in real terms.
But Downing Street insists that she has not made a decision and will not rush in to doing so.