Hands served in Prime Minister David Cameron's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2015 until 2016.

[2] Following the referendum vote and Cameron's consequent resignation, Hands was demoted by the new prime minister Theresa May to a junior ministerial position at the Department for International Trade.

Following the dismissal of Nadhim Zahawi in January 2023, Hands was promoted to Chairman of the Conservative Party by Sunak on 7 February 2023, but was sacked from this role on 13 November 2023.

[8] In his maiden speech on 26 May 2005, Hands 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.

[11] After the election, Hands served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, having shadowed the Treasury in opposition.

[12][13] 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 Liam Fox as Secretary of State for Defence.

[16] At the 2015 general election, Hands was re-elected as MP as Chelsea and Fulham with an increased vote share of 62.9% and a decreased majority of 16,022.

[17][18][19] Following the election, Hands was promoted by David Cameron to the Cabinet in the position of Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

[28][29][30] Following the Grenfell Tower fire which killed 71 people, Hands called for the Notting Hill Carnival to be moved.

[33] Following the third defeat of the Brexit withdrawal agreement in the House of Commons in March 2019, Hands co-chaired the Prosperity UK Alternative Arrangements Commission.

[34] Alongside former neighbouring MPs Justine Greening and Zac Goldsmith, Hands has been critical of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's April 2019 decision to close Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles, and has called for the bridge to be promptly repaired and re-opened.

[36] During the campaign, Hands wrote to Boris Johnson requesting that he review the Government's decision to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

[38][39] Hands was appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy in the second Johnson ministry during the 2020 cabinet reshuffle.

[40] In May 2020, Parliament's Standards and Privileges Committee censured Hands for misusing public funds relating to stationery and pre-paid House of Commons envelopes.

[43] Following the firing of Nadhim Zahawi in January 2023, Hands was appointed as his replacement as Chairman of the Conservative Party in a subsequent cabinet reshuffle.