Unic Press UK: The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said he would resign if a former Mayor of London and the leading contender in the Tory leadership race, Boris Johnson, becomes the UK Prime Minister when the results are announced this week.
Hammond, on Sunday, disclosed his intention live on the BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, saying:
“Assuming that Boris Johnson becomes the next prime minister, I understand that his conditions for serving in his government would include accepting a no-deal exit on 31 October; that’s not something that I could ever sign up to. It’s very important that the prime minister is able to have a chancellor who is closely aligned with him in terms of policy and I therefore intend to resign to Theresa May before she goes to the palace to tender her own resignation on Wednesday. I intend to resign after prime minister’s questions, before the prime minister goes to the palace.”
When asked whether his position would change in the event that the other contender for the Tory leadership seat, Jeremy Hunt, is declared winner this week, Hammond said:
“That might be more complicated, because Jeremy’s position is more nuanced, and I haven’t heard him express clearly a requirement for a sort of loyalty pledge around a 31 October no-deal exit.”
