David Cameron has announced his replacement for ex chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat who lost his seat at the general election and whose role will now be taken by Greg Hands MP
Hands, who will attend Cabinet, has been the MP for the London seat of Chelsea & Fulham since 2010, having previously represented the constituency of Hammersmith & Fulham in 2005. A former banker, Hands has strong links with the US, where he lived as a child, and was active in the campaign to elect Rudy Giuliani as mayor of New York City.
In the last parliament Hands was the Conservative party’s deputy chief whip, and earlier served as shadow treasury minister when the Labour government was in power.
When news of his appointment was confirmed yesterday evening, Hands put out his first tweet as chief secretary, stating: ‘For those asking, that very sensible chap Danny Alexander didn't leave a note for me in the drawer.’
The tweet was accompanied by a photo of an empty desk, and was a reference to the outgoing Labour minister who left a message saying there was no money left in the Treasury when the coalition government took office in 2010.
