SAJID JAVID has resigned as chancellor after Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly asked him to sack his team of advisers.
A source close to Javid said: “The PM said he had to fire all his special advisers and replace them with No 10 special advisers to make it one team. The chancellor said no self-respecting minister would accept those terms.”
Rishi Sunak, who was chief secretary to the Treasury, has been appointed as the new chancellor.
Javid’s resignation came as a shock, as he was due to deliver his first Budget in four weeks’ time. He will go down in history as the shortest-serving chancellor of the exchequer since 1970.
Some political pundits suggested the development was a sign that Johnson’s special adiviser Dominic Cummings had “won the battle” to take control of the Treasury.
Deputy political editor of The Times Steven Swinford said: “The issue is one of control—Downing Street wants more control over the Treasury.”
“There were warning signs last week when Sajid Javid made clear his support for HS2 before the decision had been made public,” he noted.
“There were also clashes during the election campaign when he insisted on very tight fiscal rules which meant the Tories would have to balance the books.
“That was objected to by Dominic Cummings.”
BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg said, “The relationship between these two next door neighbours in Downing Street [prime minister and chancellor] is vital in any government.
“The relationship between the two men as individuals has been OK but there have been clashes between their wider teams.”
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