PHILIP Hammond insists the PM will be “as good as her word” – and go when Brexit is passed by the Commons.
Speaking yesterday the Chancellor signalled he believed it was time for a change – by ducking whether Theresa May should stay on until Tory conference in October.
2019 Steve Back
But he said the only way for those wanting her to go “sooner” was to pass her EU agreement. It came as the Chancellor made an extraordinary pitch to stay on under a new leader.
Speaking to the Evening Standard he admitted he wouldn’t stand a chance in any leadership contest himself given his softer stance on Brexit.
But he said he would like to stay on at the Treasury under a leader who, he admits, would have to be a “believer in Brexit”.
And he praised would-be leader Dominic Raab’s idea to lop a penny off income tax – saying it was “perfectly credible” given the healthier state of the public finances.
He added the leadership contest would have to be conducted “as quickly as possible” to reduce uncertainty.
He said: “This isn’t just about the leader of the party, it’s about the Prime Minister.”
The Sun yesterday revealed Theresa May had opened talks with Tory grandees about her departure.
She will address demands from Tory backbenchers seeking clarity on when she will go – in the event a Brexit deal doesn’t pass – in person next week.
EPA
