Hammond’s Departure Shows U.K. Tories Have Shifted Under Johnson

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. election next month will see the departure from Parliament of two former Chancellors of the Exchequer. As well as having run the Treasury, Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond share another distinction: They were both expelled from the Conservative Party in September.

The retirement of Clarke, 79, has been a while coming. For Hammond, 64, it is more abrupt. Announcing he wouldn't be a candidate in a letter to voters published on Twitter, he was clear it wasn't his preference. “I am saddened to find myself in this position after 45 years of Conservative Party membership,” he wrote.

Boris Johnson moved quickly to impose himself on the party after he became leader in July and expelled 21 Tory MPs for voting against him over Brexit in September. At the end of October, 10 were readmitted, meaning they can stand for the party at the election. Others embraced their dismissal: Sam Gyimah and Antoinette Sandbach are now Liberal Democrats, and Dominic Grieve is running as an independent in his district of Beaconsfield.

Although discipline was vital in any attempt to get a Brexit deal through Parliament, and is likely to be important if Johnson wins on Dec. 12, many Conservatives bridled at having loyalty urged on them by a man who had stoked rebellion against his predecessor Theresa May, twice voting against her Brexit deal. As Hammond observed in his letter, “many parliamentary colleagues have defied the party whip on occasions without any action being taken against them.”

The prime minister's action carries two dangers: The first is voters will wonder what kind of Conservative Party has no room for Clarke, a grand old man of British politics and an MP for almost half a century, and Hammond, who was chancellor less than four months ago. The second comes when Parliament returns.

Johnson will be counting on the Conservative who replaces Hammond being more loyal, and more willing to vote the way he wants. But their disagreement was about the threat of a no-deal Brexit, a possible outcome rejected by the former Chancellor.

Now Johnson has got a deal, his worry is less about MPs on Hammond's side of the argument, who will vote for a deal. The danger will come from ardent supporters of Brexit, who would prefer to leave without an agreement. It's possible Hammond's replacement will be in that mold.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Alex Morales

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