Hammond’s future questioned by May’s allies as budget nears
london — Britain’s finance minister Philip Hammond on Sunday faced mounting questions over his future weeks ahead of a budget announcement, finding himself at the centre of an increasingly fraught debate over Britain’s departure from the European Union.
The EU last week declared a “disturbing deadlock” in talks with Prime Minister Theresa May’s government on arrangements to leave the bloc, raising the chances of Britain quitting without a negotiated deal and increasing criticism of the government’s handling of Brexit.
On Sunday an unnamed source from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said May must warn Hammond he faces the sack unless he changes his approach to Brexit, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The DUP is a small Northern Irish political party which is keeping May’s minority government in power.
“We are very concerned about Philip Hammond’s behaviour,” the senior parliamentary DUP source told the newspaper.
A DUP spokesman later said the party did not recognise the “inaccurate” comments.
Hammond, 61, who is seen by many as May’s most pro-EU minister, has become a focal point of criticism for Brexiteers, who say he is overly pessimistic about the impact of leaving the bloc and is damaging Britain’s negotiating stance.
In a botched attempt on Friday to calm speculation over his future and play down the party’s divisions Hammond described the EU as the “enemy” in negotiations. He later said he regretted his choice of words. The Sunday Times reported that Hammond was preparing a “revolutionary” budget that could see the government ditch its opposition to borrowing more to boost investment, and may include tax breaks for the young paid for by pensioners. “The view has galvanised that this budget has got to be big, it’s got to be powerful, it’s got to be revolutionary. Saying it’s got to be brave is really understating it. People are very clear that this is basically the last chance,” the paper reported a senior government source as saying. —