I was delighted to hear this afternoon that my friend Kulveer Ranger has been appointed as the Conservative's new Vice Chairman for Cities. Kulveer succeeds Sayeeda Warsi who has been appointed to the Shadow Cabinet.

Its been a pleasure to get to know Kulveer over the last couple of years. He is a dedicated and loyal rising star who has proven himself in the real world of business as a project manager. He brings skills to politics that are so badly needed: honesty, integrity, loyalty, and a desire to listen.

I'm particularly glad that Kulveer's job will overlap my own as vice-president of the Party's National Convention. My responsibility as Board representative for the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside, the West Midlands and the South West, means that I cover the majority of Britain's cities. I spoke to Kulveer this afternoon, and we are really looking forward to working together.

Being vice-chairman for Cities is a major challenge, and one that I know Kulveer will take up with alacrity. We all know that for the Conservative renaissance to really build One Nation we have to win across the cities of the Midlands and North to a far greater extent than we have for many years. Its great that we lead the council in cities like Birmingham and Coventry. But Kulveer's challenge will be to work with associations, social enterprises, and businesses whose participants might become councillors so that we have the very best people who can bring their skills to the transformation of urban life. Britain is crying out for that change in an almost unanimous voice.