[8] He had the Conservative whip removed in September 2019 for voting against Johnson's government and subsequently sat as an independent MP, while remaining a member of the party.

He then read Philosophy, politics and economics at University College, Oxford, where he was an Open Scholar,[11] and graduated with a first-class honours degree.

[17] In Parliament, he served on the Environment, Transport and the Regions Select committee from 1997 until he was promoted by William Hague as front bench spokesman for Health.

[15][16] He was moved to become a spokesman for Trade and Industry by Iain Duncan Smith in 2001,[16] and later transferred to Shadow Minister for Local Government and Regions in 2002.

He was moved back to the role of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in David Cameron's reshuffle following Gordon Brown's accession to the premiership.

[18][19] However, following criticism, including that modelling predicted a 20+% increase in motorway deaths and would alienate women voters, the plans were dropped by his successor.

Hammond said the Government had "no choice but to reduce the size of the armed forces – while reconfiguring them to ensure they remain agile, adaptable and effective".

[25] The £38 billion "black hole" in Ministry of Defence finances had been "dealt with" and the department's "hand to mouth existence would come to an end", Hammond stated in February 2012.

The money was to come from a combination of cuts over the previous two years, bargaining with industry suppliers and a one per cent increase in the equipment budget.

He said that he would vote in a putative referendum for a British exit from the European Union unless there were changes in the relationship,[30] but following David Cameron's renegotiation, he supported the Remain campaign.

[34] As a result of these discrepancies, Labour MP Ann Clwyd asked the Commons Speaker John Bercow to refer the incident to the relevant parliamentary authority so that they can decide whether Hammond deliberately misled the MPs or if it was an honest mistake.

"[35]On 8 July 2015, Hammond condemned the defeat by Russia at the UN Security Council of his four-page draft resolution S/2015/508,[36] which would have applied the genocide label to the Srebrenica massacre of Muslim Bosniaks in 1995.

[36] The Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, criticised the British wording as "confrontational and politically-motivated", arguing that it unfairly singled out Bosnian Serbs for committing war crimes in a conflict in which all three ethnic groups were the victims of atrocities.

"[44] In October 2015, Justice Secretary Michael Gove cancelled a £5.9 million contract to provide services for prisons in the Saudi Arabia, saying "the British government should not be assisting a regime that uses beheadings, stoning, crucifixions and lashings as forms of punishment."

But it is equally clear to me that the British people did not vote on June 23 to become poorer, or less secure" and that he would take whatever steps necessary to protect the economy, jobs and living standards.

Hammond called for caution during a Cabinet committee meeting, which discussed a proposed post-Brexit visa regime that would require all European Union workers to prove they have secured a skilled job before being allowed into Britain, which led to accusations that he was trying to "undermine Brexit"[49] According to The Sunday Times, Hammond's priority was ensuring the UK retained full access to the EU's single market for Britain's financial industry.

[50][51] In January 2017, Hammond stated that the UK would leave the Single Market as it was not politically possible to continue to comply with all the EU's rules regarding freedom of movement in the wake of the Brexit vote, saying that they would look to pursue a "comprehensive free trade agreement" instead.

"[7] In a June 2017 speech, Hammond said a Brexit deal that prioritised jobs and prosperity was the only way the UK would be able to deliver the strong growth that would allow the government to end its austerity measures.

In his strongest-yet call for a managed approach, Hammond said a comprehensive trade agreement, a transitional deal after the 2019 deadline for the end of talks, and a commitment to keep borders open should form a three-point Brexit plan for Britain.

[60] In November 2017, Hammond said in an interview on The Andrew Marr Show, while talking about possible unemployment that comes with driverless vehicles, AI and robots, that the development of personal computers meant that there was no longer any need for shorthand typists.

[62] In January 2018, senior Conservative MPs mounted pressure on Theresa May to sack him as Chancellor following his recent comments about Brexit, which were deemed too europhilic in nature.

"[64] In July 2019, with the expectation that Boris Johnson would become prime minister, Hammond asserted that he would work to avoid an immediate exit from the EU.

[65] In an interview on The Andrew Marr Show he said he planned to tender his resignation to Theresa May on 24 July immediately following Prime Minister's Questions but before May stood down.

It was learned that Minister Berat Albayrak explained in detail the policies he will put forward within the framework of a stronger strategic plan in the new period, in addition to the 15-year success story that Turkey has achieved with economic stability.

According to the Daily Telegraph, a cabinet minister criticised the decision to award Hammond a seat in the House of Lords, saying he "tried to bring down the government".

[75] Hammond had a business career in small and medium-sized companies in manufacturing, consultancy, property and construction, and oil and gas, both in the UK and abroad.

[84] In January 2013 during a visit to Royal Holloway, University of London, he bracketed the tabled legislation, which was passed afterwards, alongside socially unacceptable relationships, at the upper scale of which he stated was the criminal offence of incest.

Asked by PinkNews to clarify his remarks, Hammond wrote by email: "The discussion ranged very widely and was not limited to same sex relationships".

[85] Hammond was openly critical of the then Prime Minister David Cameron's approach to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 and said in November 2013 that he was "shocked" by the speed with which it was pushed through and that it was "damaging" to the Conservative Party.

[86] Hammond wants all earners, not only the wealthiest to pay higher taxes to finance improved public services, he feels borrowing will not work.