In recent months, Philip Hammond has been offering his views on a range of topics, from Philip Hammond: cut welfare not troops  to Gay marriage laws have created ‘real sense of anger says Philip Hammond and finally, on that perennial fault line for the Conservative party, when he said, he would vote to leave the European Union which led to a rebuke from the Prime Minister.

Following those interventions, the Sunday Telegraph reported over the weekend that

Members of the Prime Minister’s inner circle have become increasingly concerned about Mr Hammond’s readiness to speak out on a number of “touchstone” issues for the Tory right – including Europe, same-sex marriage and defence cuts.

Some senior figures around Mr Cameron are even concerned that he will use rows about cuts to the Ministry of Defence’s Budget in the year following the next general election to quit the cabinet and set himself up as the “leader of the Right.”

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His interventions will go down with sections of the Tory Party, who are opposed to Defence cuts, gay marriage and would love to see the UK’s exit from the European Union, the one advantage he does hold over Theresa May, the other cabinet minister, who is reportedly on maneuvers,  is that he never described the party as the Nasty Party, and it is conservative party members who will have the final say on who replaces David Cameron.

TSE