Theresa May has insisted she is still in charge as she defended pledging billions for “legacy” projects in her final weeks in office.
She issued a stern rebuke to Philip Hammond who threatened to quit in an explosive row over funding her plans.
The Chancellor has strongly opposed the PM’s bid for a £27billion boost for education – arguing it would unfairly bind her successor.
The Sunday Mirror understands that Mrs May has privately told sceptical Cabinet colleagues she intends to push ahead with plans to spend billions as she desperately tries to secure her legacy.
She spent a frosty 12-hour flight with Mr Hammond to the G20 summit in Japan after which sources said the pair were “further apart than ever”.
Challenged over her spending plans during the summit, Mrs May said: “Look, Government is continuing. I’ve still got work to do as Prime Minister until I hand over to my successor.
“And I think it’s important that we continue to take decisions that are right decisions for this country. ‘Net zero’ being a very good example of that.”
(Image: Getty)
Mrs May will stand down on July 24, most likely making way for leadership favourite Boris Johnson .
Mr Johnson promised on Friday to reverse real-terms education cuts, with school funding increasing by £4.6billion a year by 2022/23.
One source close to the Chancellor suggested the announcement had “pulled the rug” from under his attempts to fight off Mrs May’s bid.
The Prime Minister has spent the last few weeks making a flurry of new policy announcements including on the planning system, mental health, education and climate change.
She has pledged Britain will set a legally binding target to cut carbon emissions to “net zero” by 2050 – the first big industrial country to do so.
The Chancellor warned her that this could cost £1trillion and require spending cuts for schools, hospitals and the police.
Downing Street denied his claims.
He is also unhappy with her decision to spend up to £27billion on education over three years, including building new schools and paying teachers higher wages.
Mr Hammond is fiercely protecting the £27billion “war chest” he has set aside in case of a no-deal Brexit until that scenario is definitely off the table.
He is understood to believe that school reform is a better way of improving outcomes than spending more cash, apart from on early years, which he has accepted could make a key difference.
