Philip hammond

Philip Hammond had, in his first few months of Chancellor, gained rather a reputation for being an ‘Eeyore’ about the consequences of Brexit. In the run-up to today’s Budget, it was briefed that he would be much more upbeat about things, while also storing up a ‘war chest’ to guard against any future shocks to the economy caused by Britain leaving the European Union. In the event he barely talked about it at all.  He told the Chamber that ‘as we start our negotiations to exit the European Union, this Budget takes forward our plan to prepare Britain for a brighter future’, and ’our task today is to take the

After this week, the centrepiece of the financial year is being shunted to the Autumn. Good news, no doubt, for the city bigwigs, fund managers, chief executives and financial hacks and flacks who’d rather be betting on which horse will romp home at Cheltenham than which tax relief, pension allowance or benefit will be axed this time. But for those wanting to take a punt on what will be in Philip Hammond’s Budget Box tomorrow, here are some likely runners and riders. Despite having an extra billion or two to play with thanks to higher than expected economic growth and bumper tax receipts, it seems a racing certainty that there

Ahead of his budget announcement this week, Philip Hammond has told Andrew Marr that the UK may continue to face EU contributions after Brexit, though he dismissed claims of a £60bn divorce fee as ‘a piece of negotiating strategy’. The Chancellor looked relaxed as he shrugged off the potential failure of a trade deal with the EU, stating simply that ‘we will forge new trade deals around the world’. In a typically uncharismatic performance, Hammond also poured cold water on the Resolution Foundation’s findings that the so-called ‘just about managing’ are going to be severely squeezed over the next three years. ‘I don’t recognise these numbers,’ he said, ‘various bodies publish various numbers,

As Theresa May reveals her plan for Britain in her much-anticipated speech, Philip Hammond has beaten her to the punch at Treasury Questions. The Chancellor has announced that Britain will leave the single market: ‘We will go forward understanding we cannot be members of the single market.’ Hammond also used the session to try and set the record straight regarding his interview to Welt am Sonntag in which he suggested that if the UK can’t negotiate a reasonable new trading arrangement with the EU then it is prepared to slash tax and to make its economy more competitive. When John McDonnell asked about the repercussions of low tax rates on the NHS, Hammond

The backdrop to Theresa May’s Brexit speech is almost as interesting as the speech itself promises to be. First, there’s the government’s very deliberate decision to make clear—via a Philip Hammond interview in the German press—that Britain will play hardball if it can’t secure a decent deal with the EU. Hammond made clear to Welt am Sonntag that if the UK can’t negotiate a reasonable new trading arrangement with the EU then it is prepared to slash tax and regulation to make its economy more competitive. This is a deliberate attempt to play on European worries about having some kind of Singapore West on its doorstep. Hammond’s intervention is striking

The trouble with plebiscites is that they leave the plebs stranded. A complicated issue is reduced to one question: should we leave the EU, yes or no. Nowhere on the ballot does it ask whether we should leave the single market or currency union, crash into the WTO without trade agreements with the rest of the world, or tear up employment protections. There is just the deceptively simple question. It provides no guidance to which of the thousands of possible futures we could chose when it is answered. The Leavers might have interpreted the referendum result as meaning Britain should embrace the Norway model; and pay the price for staying

In the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge, here, in no particular order, are my current irritants:   • Paddy Ashdown   • Lady (Shami) Chakrabarti of Kennington   • First Minister Nicola Sturrrgeon   • Brussels grands fromages Michel Barnier, Guy Verhofstadt and Monsieur Tipsy Jean-Claude Juncker   • Three out of five Newsnight discussions   • Dance judge Len Goodman (those teeth are whistling again, Len)   • Donald Trump’s hand gestures   • Sir Philip Green   • Lady Green and that dog of hers   • Nicky Morgan   • Business Secretary Greg Clark, the cabinet’s fruity-voiced answer to Clifford the Listerine dragon   • Benedict Cumberbatch   • Caitlin Moran   • The National Secular Society   • Ukip braggart Raheem Kassam

If only I’d known. If only I’d foreseen that the teenage classmate who strode through our school gates every morning, rolled-up Daily Telegraph tucked incongruously (and insouciantly) under one arm, dark leather trench-coat flapping rhythmically in sympathy with the long, swaying black crows-wings of shoulder-length hair, square-heeled boots clicking and clacking their way into morning assembly… if I’d somehow intuited, as I say, that this lanky 15-year-old with the questing, beaky nose and rimless glasses, this proto-goth, would one day be Chancellor of the Exchequer… Well, actually, I wouldn’t have been remotely surprised. I don’t think any of us who knew Philip Hammond back in 1971 at Shenfield School in

While Theresa May is adamant that her government will not give a running commentary on Brexit, David Davis talked relatively freely on the topic at the Exiting the European Union Committee. He said he would not negotiate control of immigration in Article 50 talks, and that the aim is to have access to the single market that’s as close as possible to the UK’s current position. However, MPs hoping to see May’s much-anticipated Brexit plan will have to wait. Davis said this will not be published until February at the earliest, as a lot of research and policy work still needs to be done. He did, however, pave the way for

In last week’s Autumn statement, Philip Hammond appeared to channel his inner Ed Miliband as he banned letting fees and went on a borrowing splurge. Today at Treasury questions, it was Labour’s turn to cross-dress. After John McDonnell sparked much laughter from Tory benches by referring to Mark Field’s chief of staff — behind yesterday’s so-called Brexit leak — as a senior government official, his shadow chief secretary went on to press Hammond to make a guarantee — as Labour are — that he would keep the triple lock throughout the next parliament. While the pension triple lock — introduced by the coalition — was something George Osborne championed throughout his tenure as