Greg Hands has vowed to make the Conservative Party "battle ready" ahead of the next general election which he suggested will take place "next year", potentially as soon as May.

The new Tory chairman said he has got "15 to 20 months" to prepare the Conservatives for a "big contest next year against Sir Keir Starmer’s unreformed Labour Party". Fifteen months would put an election in May 2024.

Mr Hands was appointed to the role yesterday during Rishi Sunak's mini-reshuffle and he will now be tasked with turning around Tory fortunes and clawing back Labour's double digit poll lead.

Asked if Tory chairman is currently one of the hardest jobs in politics, Mr Hands told Times Radio: "Well, I don’t know about it being the hardest job but it certainly is a very exciting job.

Read full article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/02/08/rishi-sunak-news-latest-cabinet-reshuffle-ministers-pmqs/

Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube

Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.