Current British Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond are the tippy-top Tories of the UK Government, but that could all change very soon as the relationship between May’s team on Downing Street and Hammond’s people in the Treasury is starting to show cracks and signs of a potential split as today, May has refused to confirm that she will keep Hammond on as Chancellor if she wins the general election on 8 June.
May and Hammond gave a joint press conference
Things seemed sour between May and Hammond at a joint press conference today. The two have worked together pretty well during May’s time as Prime Minister, but it appears to be going downhill. Hammond isn’t showing signs of this, but May sure is.
See, Hammond was quick to shrug up rumours of his relationship with May faltering as “tittle-tattle” from the media (he’s been saying that word “tittle-tattle” a lot today), but then May refused to confirm whether or not Hammond’s job was safe. Two separate times she had to confirm she’d be keeping him on as Chancellor in the event that she wins the General Election, and both times she failed to do so, leading to speculation that she second she wins the election, he’ll be getting the sack.
And this was all while she was standing right next to the guy.
Amid the rumblings and the possible controversy with Hammond falling out with May or her staff, reporters have gotten the Chancellor to admit to “occasionally swearing” at May’s aides. We’ll surely get more and more on that as it unfolds and he reveals more and more under pressure from the media.
May’s kinder words about Hammond sound like a nice firing
May said that she would be “very happy” to “endorse” Hammond, but didn’t confirm that she would actually want to continue working with him. This sounds like a nice firing, like she’d be happy to give his next employer a letter of recommendation.
May sounded worried about how the press might twist her words when speaking about her history with Hammond.
She said, “We’ve worked together over the years for many years, longer than we could care to identify. That’s an age-related comment, nothing else, just in case you try and relate anything into that.” But while she’s explaining how long she’s been working with Hammond, she’s not saying whether or not she’s enjoyed it.
Hammond added that he and May “work very well together as a team.” It seemed that Hammond was more enthusiastic about working with May than she was about working with him, since he’s now grovelling to keep his job in the case that the Conservatives win the election on 8 June. These rumours of a split between May and Hammond came about after the Conservatives very immediately pivoted their position on Hammond’s proposal to raise National Insurance figures for the self-employed almost instantly after delivering his budget for the year.
It landed him in some hot water.
Hammond has swallowed his pride
Hammond, in a self-proclaimed “candid” manner, refused to deny the rumours that he cussed at Nick Timothy, one of Theresa May’s highest-ranking aides. Refusing to deny something, by the way, is the same thing as saying yes when you’re a politician. He added, proudly, that his “family will confirm” that he tends to “occasionally swear.” He also clarified later that these comments were not in reference “to any particular conversation.”
So, we’ve managed to get Hammond to confess that one small piece of the puzzle is true. Expect the rest to follow – Theresa May and Philip Hammond are falling out, and there’s a good chance he won’t continue as Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Conservatives win on 8 June.