Rishi Sunak hires friend and journalist James Forsyth as his new political secretary

Rishi Sunak has hired his close friend and journalist James Forsyth as his new political secretary, Downing Street has confirmed.

Mr Forsyth, the political editor of the The Spectator and a columnist for The Times, will advise Mr Sunak and act as a link between the Prime Minister, the policy unit and the Tory party as well as improve communications with Conservative MPs.

Mr Sunak was reportedly best man at Mr Forsyth’s wedding to Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson’s former press secretary who resigned over the scandal around parties being held in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns.

Her resignation came after footage emerged of her joking about parties that breached the Government’s Covid regulations at a press conference rehearsal.

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Mr Forsyth’s hiring comes as Mr Sunak’s party battles to arrest a slide in the polls ahead of an expected 2024 general election, with the Prime Minister said to have targeted tackling the small boat crossings crisis and NHS reform amid record backlogs as key aims next year.

In the new year, he will outline how he plans to deal with the immigration and health systems as well as focusing on crime and education.

Both Mr Sunak and Mr Forsyth attended the top private school Winchester College and are godparents to each other’s children.

The appointment is a political one with no cost to taxpayers.

Mr Sunak’s two months in office have been seen him grappling with the economic chaos sparked by his predecessor Liz Truss and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as well as a wave of industrial action.

Meanwhile, Labour has lined up at least eight former MPs to return to Parliament as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to push for power with his party soaring ahead in polls.

The next general election must take place before January, 2025, with Labour looking to return to power for the first time since 2010, when Gordon Brown was voted out of No 10.