Philip Hammond 'railroaded into backing' Theresa May's end of austerity plan
2 min read
Theresa May intensified her strained relationship with Philip Hammond when she announced an end to austerity in her keynote Conservative conference speech, it has been reported.
A source said the Treasury team was “railroaded into” the plan to ensure the Prime Minister ended the Birmingham jamboree with a bang, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The PM and her Chancellor have long endured a rocky relationship over differences in opinion about public spending and Brexit.
Mrs May used her closing address to reveal that the upcoming spending review will prove to Brits that the decade of cuts begun under David Cameron “is over and that their hard work has paid off”.
She also said councils would be free to borrow unlimited amounts to build social housing and said fuel duty would be frozen for the ninth consecutive year.
The Chancellor meanwhile used his conference speech to promise a “cautious” Budget and warn the Tories against calls by the left for big boosts in public spending.
A Treasury source told the paper: “We weren’t consulted about the housing plan until very late in the day, and we had hoped to announce the latest fuel duty freeze ourselves. None of this was ideal.”
Tensions between Number 10 and Number 11 were already put under extra strain earlier this year when the Prime Minister announced an annual £20bn boost for the NHS.
“Philip is very conscious about protecting the party’s reputation for fiscal rectitude and responsibility,” the source said.
“He had been hopeful of stopping the NHS splurge until just days before she said it. At the moment he just buttons his lip and goes home to complain to his wife.
“He doesn’t blame May so much as [her Chief of Staff] Gavin Barwell, who thinks that turning on the taps is the way to beat Corbyn.”
But a Treasury spokesperson told the Mail on Sunday the Chancellor had been aware of all the conference announcements in advance.
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