Greg Hands - Political Career

Political Career

Hands was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 1998. He became the leader of the Conservative group in 1999 and remained in that capacity until 2003. He stood down as councillor for the Town Ward in Fulham at the local elections in 2006. Hands was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 General Election when he gained Hammersmith and Fulham from the Labour Party with a majority of 5,029 votes. The sitting Labour MP Iain Coleman retired due to ill health, and was replaced as Labour’s candidate by Melanie Smallman. During March 2010 the UK media reported that Lord Ashcroft donated over £42,000 to fund Hands' 2005 Hammersmith & Fulham campaign.

Hands made his maiden speech on 26 May 2005, in which he referred to the fact that the BBC was the largest employer in his constituency, and that Hammersmith Broadway was the busiest road interchange in Europe.

In 2007, Hands was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the new Chelsea and Fulham parliamentary constituency. His previous seat of Hammersmith and Fulham was abolished for the 2010 General Election, with Hammersmith having its own seat (being fought by Shaun Bailey for the Conservatives), and Fulham joining Chelsea in a new seat. In January 2009, Hands was appointed to the Conservative front bench team as a Shadow Treasury Minister. He is also the Parliamentary Chairman of Conservative Friends of Poland.

Hands was re-elected in the 2010 general election for the new seat of Chelsea and Fulham.

He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne; having shadowed the Treasury in Opposition.

On 14 October 2011, Hands was appointed as an Assistant Government whip in the House of Commons as a consequence of the mini-reshuffle following the resignation of Dr Liam Fox as Secretary of State for Defence.

On 10 October 2012, on the record of asking the wife of convicted preacher Abu Hamza to move on from her council house of 17 years. Greg Hands, Tory MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: "I would strongly welcome any move by the council to take a look at Hamza’s wife’s status and the large council house in one of London’s wealthiest neighbourhoods to see whether something might be done to move Hamza’s family on."