Hammond tells cash-plea Ministers: I won’t be loosening the purse strings

PHILIP Hammond is refusing to countenance growing Tory calls to loosen the purse strings in this month’s Budget, amid renewed tensions with Theresa May.

The Chancellor is under pressure from Cabinet colleagues to release billions of pounds for everything from public sector pay to house-building.

But Whitehall sources say the Chancellor has told Mrs May he will not compromise on his target to eliminate the budget deficit by 0 5. Relations between the two are said to remain tense after the Prime Minister rebuked him last month for speaking out on Brexit. Downing Street is also said to be frustrated by Mr Hammond’s reluctance to share his thinking ahead of the Budget on November .

Cabinet ministers are queuing up to demand more money from the Chancellor. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is seeking at least £1billion to fund significant pay rises for nurses next year.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has tabled ambitious plans for a £50billion house-building programme.

And Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is seeking more money for defence, following warnings from the US this week that Britain’s reputation as a leading member of Nato is under threat.

But Mr Hammond says he will only release extra cash if it is accompanied by tax rises. Former Tory minister Nick Boles yesterday urged the Chancellor to ditch austerity and open the spending taps to provide a ‘massive boost’ to public investment.

‘The age of austerity is over,’ he said. ‘We now need an age of investment.

‘The urgent priority is to get productivity up and to get real wages up.’