George Osborne kicked as Philip Hammond named Theresa May's new Chancellor

Chancellor: Philip Hammond arrives in Downing Street
PA
Mark Chandler14 July 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Philip Hammond has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and George Osborne has left the Government, Downing Street has announced.

Mr Hammond was a permanent fixture in David Cameron's shadow frontbench team and cabinet throughout his time as leader.

A key ally of Mrs May, he has previously served as Transport Secretary, Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary.

The announcement comes less than two hours after Mrs May succeeded David Cameron in No 10 with a promise to create "a country that works for everyone".

George Osborne's time at the top of British politics was inextricably linked with Mr Cameron's fortunes and his decision to resign may have come before he was kicked out of the top team.

After the announcement of his departure, Mr Osborne tweeted: "A sad, moving day to see my great friend @David_Cameron leave Downing St. He can be very proud of the job he's done and service he's given.

"It's been a privilege to be Chancellor these last 6 yrs. Others will judge - I hope I've left the economy in a better state than I found it.

"Thank you to everyone who's helped me do the job - my ministerial team, great special advisers, and the outstanding Treasury civil servants."

Mrs May had made clear earlier this week that she believed there were shortcomings in the Government's record.

In a speech in Downing Street on taking office as the UK's second female Prime Minister, she said that the decisions of her administration would be driven not by the interests of "the privileged few" but those of voters struggling with the pressures of modern life.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in