Generally speaking, Philip Hammond is one of the Cabinet’s quieter members; a sort of human calculator designed to run a department efficiently and with the minimum of fuss. Which is why his interview with the Sunday Times this morning (£) is so eye-catching. There’s very little that’s understated about it at all.
ConservativeHome’s Matthew Barrett has already put together a useful summary of the main
points, so suffice to say that Hammond is dismissive about both Lords reform…
…and gay marriage:‘He believes the upper chamber “works rather well” as it is and that voters are “probably largely indifferent” on the subject.’
And, if that’s not enough, he also has a pop at the Lib Dems for impeding Tory efforts to create ‘a sensible and UK-based approach to human rights’.‘He believes gay marriage is too controversial for the government to tackle right now, suggesting it would be “difficult to push through”, “use up a lot of political capital” and “a lot of legislative time as well”.’
All of the above will surely aggravate Nick Clegg & Co, but it might also do similar for David Cameron.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in