Greg Hands vows he will win back all three by-election seats

2023-07-16

Tory chairman Greg Hands vows his party will win back all three by-election seats at the general election if the Conservatives lose out at the polls this week

Greg Hands has vowed to win all three by-election seats in the General Election
He appeared to blame Boris Johnson for triggering a by-election on July 20
The Cabinet Minister said it would time spent campaigning would not be ‘in vain’

Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands has vowed to win back all three by-election seats in the General Election if his party loses them this week.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the defiant Cabinet Minister acknowledged it was going to be ‘challenging’ but said time spent campaigning would not be ‘in vain’.

He also appeared to blame the former PM Boris Johnson for triggering one of the by-elections on July 20 after resigning as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Voters will also go to the polls in Selby and Ainsty after Mr Johnson’s ally Nigel Adams resigned, and in Somerset and Frome after David Warburton stood down following revelations about his private life.

Nevertheless, Mr Hands insisted the party could reclaim the seats – though he refused to make a prediction of Thursday’s results.

Greg Hands has vowed to win all three by-election seats in the General Election

Asked what would happen if the Conservatives lost all three, he said: ‘Well, look, I think we’ll have to win them all back next year. So the effort we put in would not have been in vain, because we’ll have to fight to regain them.

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‘By-elections are traditionally not the same as a General Election. People know that a by-election – whatever the result – is not going to change who is the Prime Minister.

‘So I find most people respect what Rishi Sunak is doing and think he’s doing a good job, including here in Uxbridge. But they’ll know that the result isn’t going to change who runs the Government. They know that that’ll be a determination next year.’

Speaking while canvassing in South Ruislip, Mr Hands appeared to blame the actions of the area’s ex-MP, Mr Johnson. ‘Obviously, the background to the contest was not particularly favourable – the reason for the by-election being the sitting member of parliament, the former Prime Minister, resigning,’ he said.

Asked if ‘Boris Johnson’ had become a bit of a dirty word, Mr Hands said: ‘I think to be fair, people have got different views about Boris as an MP. But most importantly, people are looking at this as a referendum on the future. The next MP, not the past MP.’ The eight-point swing the opposition party will need to take Uxbridge and South Ruislip is well within the 20-point lead Labour has over the Tories at present.

But party activists remain defiant and are throwing everything at it – even Rishi Sunak’s wife has been campaigning in the area.

The battles come at a difficult period in the electoral cycle: after 13 years of Tory rule and some 15 months before a General Election.

Add to that a growing cost of living crisis and endless party infighting, and it looks as though the Tories may struggle. However, there appears to be no enthusiasm for Labour and Sir Keir Starmer – and outright condemnation of London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Mr Khan’s plan to extend Ulez (the ultra low emission zone) to outer London next month is deeply unpopular. Mr Hands insists the by-election is being treated as a referendum on the policy and that voting for the Tory candidate Steve Tuckwell will put pressure on Mr Khan.

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