Philip Hammond facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable The Lord Hammond of Runnymede PC
Official portrait, 2017
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 13 July 2016 – 24 July 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	George Osborne
Succeeded by	Sajid Javid
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 15 July 2014 – 13 July 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	William Hague
Succeeded by	Boris Johnson
Secretary of State for Defence
In office 14 October 2011 – 15 July 2014
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Liam Fox
Succeeded by	Michael Fallon
Secretary of State for Transport
In office 11 May 2010 – 14 October 2011
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	The Lord Adonis
Succeeded by	Justine Greening
Shadow Cabinet posts Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury In office 2 July 2007 – 11 May 2010 Leader David Cameron Preceded by Theresa Villiers Succeeded by Liam Byrne In office 6 May 2005 – 6 December 2005 Leader Michael Howard Preceded by George Osborne Succeeded by Theresa Villiers Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions In office 6 December 2005 – 2 July 2007 Leader David Cameron Preceded by Malcolm Rifkind Succeeded by Chris Grayling
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 26 October 2020 Member of Parliament for Runnymede and Weybridge In office 1 May 1997 – 6 November 2019 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Ben Spencer
Personal details
Born	(1955-12-04) 4 December 1955 (age 67) Epping, Essex, England
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	Independent
Spouse(s)	Susan Williams-Walker ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	3
Residence(s)	Send, Surrey, England
Alma mater	University College, Oxford
Signature

Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede PC (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019, Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, and Defence Secretary from 2011 to 2014. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Runnymede and Weybridge from 1997 to 2019.

Born in Epping, Essex, Hammond studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at University College, Oxford. He worked from 1984 as a company director at Castlemead Ltd – a healthcare and nursing company. From 1995 to 1997, he acted as an adviser to the government of Malawi before his election to Parliament.

Hammond served in the Shadow Cabinets of Michael Howard and David Cameron as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2005 to 2007 and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010. After the formation of the Coalition Government in May 2010, he was appointed Secretary of State for Transport and was sworn of the Privy Council. Upon the resignation of Liam Fox over a scandal in October 2011, Hammond was promoted to replace him as Secretary of State for Defence, before being further promoted in July 2014 to become Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

In July 2016, after Theresa May succeeded Cameron as Prime Minister, Hammond was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. As Chancellor, Hammond suggested that the government may begin a reduction in austerity measures. In July 2019, he spoke in an interview with Andrew Marr of his plans to tender his resignation to Theresa May should Boris Johnson become the new Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, on the grounds that, should he be part of the Johnson Cabinet, collective responsibility would require him to support a no-deal Brexit. With the later selection of Boris Johnson as the next Prime Minister, he tendered his resignation to Theresa May. He had the Conservative whip removed in September 2019 for voting against Boris Johnson's government and subsequently sat as an independent MP, whilst remaining a member of the party. He did not stand for re-election in the 2019 election.

Early life

Hammond was born in Epping, Essex, the son of a civil engineer. He was educated at Shenfield School (now Shenfield High School) in Brentwood, Essex, where he was a classmate of Richard Madeley. He then read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at University College, Oxford, where he was an Open Scholar, and graduated with a first-class honours degree.

Hammond joined the medical equipment manufacturers Speywood Laboratories Ltd in 1977, becoming a director of Speywood Medical Limited in 1981. He left in 1983 and, from 1984, served as a director in Castlemead Ltd.

From 1993 to 1995, he was a partner in CMA Consultants and, from 1994, a director in Castlemead Homes. He had many business interests including house building and property, manufacturing, healthcare, and oil and gas. He worked as a consultant to the Government of Malawi from 1995 until his election to Parliament.

Conservative Backbencher and Independent

In August 2019, Hammond, and a number of other Conservative MPs including former Cabinet ministers Rory Stewart and David Gauke, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, accusing him of "ruining" any chance of a new deal with European Union by setting "the bar on his red lines so high". According to The Times, Hammond and several other remain supporters aimed at an extension to Article 50 with EU leaders.

On 3 September 2019, Hammond led 20 other rebel Conservative MPs to vote against the Conservative government of Boris Johnson. The rebel MPs voted with the Opposition against a Conservative motion, which subsequently failed. Effectively, they helped block Johnson's "no-deal" Brexit plan from proceeding on 31 October. Subsequently, all 21 were advised that they had lost the Conservative whip, expelling them as Conservative MPs and requiring them to sit as independents.

Hammond did not contest the 2019 general election, as he would be a "direct challenge" to the Conservative party. If he or the other rebel MPs had decided to run for re-election, the party would have blocked their selection as Conservative candidates. Hammond later suggested that "the Conservative Party has been taken over by unelected advisors, entryists and usurpers who are trying to turn it from a broad church into an extreme right-wing faction", and that "it is not the party I joined."

Later career

Boris Johnson nominated Hammond for a peerage in February 2020, along with Kenneth Clarke, who also had the Conservative whip removed. 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".

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. On 13 July 2020, according to documents from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which oversees business appointments for former ministers, Hammond would be taking up a paid, part-time role as an advisor to Saudi Arabia's Minister of Finance.

Hammond was created Baron Hammond of Runnymede, of Runnymede in the County of Surrey, by Letters Patent dated 30 September 2020. The cryptocurrency firm, Copper Technologies employs Hammond as an adviser. Hammond holds a stake in the company worth $15 million.

Awards and honours

•  United Kingdom:
  • 13 May 2010: Member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom This gave him the Honorific Prefix "The Right Honourable" and after Ennoblement the Post Nominal Letters "PC" for Life.

Personal life

Hammond married Susan Carolyn Williams-Walker on 29 June 1991. They have two daughters and a son and live in Send, Surrey, with another home in London. In 2009, Hammond's wealth was estimated at £9 million.