Fresh Tory war as Philip Hammond mocks Boris Johnson and says he won't be PM
4 min read
Philip Hammond has openly mocked Boris Johnson and written off his chances of ever becoming Prime Minister.
In a stinging attack, the Chancellor said Mr Johnson - who has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of the Government's Brexit strategy in recent days - was incapable of "grown up" politics.
And he even performed a lengthy impersonation of the Tory heavyweight, saying the Uxbridge MP had "never been a detail man".
Mr Hammond's attack - in an interview with the Daily Mail - comes after Mr Johnson branded Theresa May's Chequers Brexit plan "deranged" and questioned her commitment to leaving the EU.
The Brexiteer, who has long coveted Mrs May's job, has been pushing for a so-called "super Canada" free trade deal between the UK and EU as an alternative.
But Mr Hammond, who campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum and is pushing to maintain close ties with Brussels in the future, said: "Boris is a wonderful character, but he's never been a detail man. I've had many discussions with him on Brexit."
Recounting a recent discussion on the pros and cons of the Canada option, Mr Hammond then broke into an impression of the former Foreign Secretary.
He said: "Boris sits there and at the end of it he says 'yeah but, er, there must be a way, I mean, if you just, if you, erm, come on, we can do it Phil, we can do it. I know we can get there.' And that's it!"
He added: "You know? No rebuttal of the arguments...
"'We just have to want it a bit more, we just have to wish a bit harder, we just have to be a bit more bullish and it will all be fine.'
"But it won't all be fine because we are dealing with grown-ups here and we have to deal with the real world situation we face."
'TRIUMPH OF PERSONALITY'
Mr Hammond - who will give his speech to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham later today - also tore into the Uxbridge MP's time as mayor of London, and said Mr Johnson's career had been about "the triumph of will, of personality".
He asked: "What were Boris' policies as mayor?
"You can think of one or two like Boris bikes. But I'm afraid when you are negotiating with the EU, you have to look at the facts and details."
Asked about Mr Johnson's chances of entering Number 10, the Chancellor said: "I don't expect it to happen."
Mr Hammond's withering putdown came as Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson prepared to make a fresh dig of her own at him.
In a thinly-veiled attack, the Scottish Conservative leader will hit out at the "ivory-towered schemes of the ideological puritan" and hail the Prime Minister's "pragmatic" approach to Brexit in her speech to party conference.
Meanwhile former business minister Lord Digby Jones received a standing ovation - including from the Prime Minister herself - for a conference hall speech in which he took aim at Mr Johnson for reportedly saying "f*** business" over the private sector's worries about Brexit.
SKILLS BOOST
Mr Hammond will use his speech to the Conservative conference today to unveil £125m of fresh funding for programmes designed to boost workers' skills.
The extra cash will be used to create more apprenticeships in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.
Meanwhile big employers will be given the freedom to transfer funding for apprenticeship places to smaller firms.
And in a challenge to his party, he will say: "Too many people have experienced years of slow wage growth, felt less secure in their jobs and seen the housing market spiral beyond their reach.
"And as they look around them, they feel a growing concern that they are falling behind.
"So the challenge is to ensure that 21st century capitalism delivers for them; to convince them that our vision of Britain's future can meet their aspirations and that our plan, unlike Labour's, will actually deliver a better tomorrow for them and their families."
Labour tore into the “bizarre” announcement on apprenticeships, however, and accused ministers of “tinkering around the edges”.
Under the government’s plans, large employers will be able to give up to 25% of the apprenticeship levy they would normally pay to government to smaller companies in their own supply chain in a bid to encourage more training places.
But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: "This scheme reflects the warped logic of a party beholden to the interests of corporate giants.
"Rather than tell big businesses to act in a socially responsible manner – or even pay their taxes – the Government has resorted to begging and paying their fat cat friends to do what they should have done in the first place."
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