Theresa May should be replaced “as quickly as possible” once she confirms her departure from Number 10, Philip Hammond said today.
The Chancellor said the Prime Minister will be “as good as her word” and step down once a withdrawal deal passes in the Commons.
“Once we start the leadership contest, getting it done as quickly as possible would be positive because this isn’t just about the leader of the party, it’s about the Prime Minister,” he said in an interview with the Evening Standard. His comments come amid mounting pressure from Tory MPs for an early leadership contest.
The Chancellor did not rule out a swift summer contest that would enable a new leader to take over by the party conference in October.
“I’m clear that the leadership contest should happen once the deal is done,” he said.
Asked if Mrs May could stay on beyond the conference, Mr Hammond said that the party would decide the handover timing.
“The Prime Minister’s role in this is to get the deal done and then start the process, it’s then the party chairman and board that manages the process and sets the timetable,” he said.
Mr Hammond stressed: “For those who think she should go sooner, the answer is simple: vote for the deal and it’s done and we can move on.”
Speculation is growing at Westminster, however, that Mrs May’s days are numbered, with disastrous European elections looming and little hope of a deal emerging from talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
In his interview Mr Hammond also:
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Revealed that he would like to stay on as Chancellor under Mrs May’s successor.
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Branded shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s views as “completely abhorrent” and “totally toxic”.
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Told Tory leadership contenders championing a Canada-style free trade deal with the EU that Parliament was likely to rule it out.
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Set a goal of ending low pay by raising Britain’s minimum earnings target, possibly to the highest level in Europe. “It would be a huge prize to be able to over time eliminate low pay from the UK economy,” he said.
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Trumpeted that a return to the tax-cutting agenda is “a perfectly credible proposition” for Tories now in a “luxury” new era of spending choices.
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Accused Gavin Williamson of undermining the Ministry of Defence spending negotiations with a confrontational attitude towards the Treasury before he was sacked as Defence Secretary.
“It doesn’t help them,” he said. “These things are done more effectively when we are working together.” Mr Hammond said he was “looking forward” to working with new Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt and “getting the defence budget back on a sustainable trajectory”.
Contradicted Liz Truss, his deputy at the Treasury, by saying HS2 was a “big strategic judgment” and should not be scrapped.
In other developments today, Esther McVey, who quit the Cabinet over Brexit, joined the Tory leadership race, saying the Tories needed a leader who “believes in Brexit”.
Justice Secretary David Gauke issued an appeal to Conservatives to shun the temptations of Right-wing populism and avoid “yearning for a mythical past”. In a speech he said: “Populism would make us a poorer and a more divided nation. Ultimately, it won’t satisfy the voters who feel most disillusioned.”
Writing in today’s Standard, former attorney general Dominic Grieve warned fellow Tories that the UK will be wrenched apart unless the Brexit impasse is overcome with a three-question referendum, which should offer Remain, Mrs May’s deal or a hard Brexit on WTO terms.
“Paralysis in decision-making breeds frustration and contempt from the electorate,” he said.
