MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Euro-skeptic tainted cabinet with Philip Hammond as Foreign Secretary
The choice of Hammond sends a powerful signal to Britain's European allies British Prime Minister David Cameron pushed through his biggest government shake-up since coming to power in 2010, promoting Euro-skeptics to senior roles ahead of a national election in May next year, among them former defense minister and prominent Euro-skeptic Philip Hammond.
In one surprise development, foreign minister William Hague, Britain's most senior diplomat for the past four years, voluntarily stood down allowing Cameron to appoint Hammond, the defense minister to the influential post.
Hammond's appointment immediately stoked speculation that Cameron, the leader of the ruling Conservative party, was trying to give his part of the coalition government a more Euro-skeptic flavor to please a vociferous wing of his own party and to counter an electoral threat from the anti-EU UK Independence Party which won European elections in Britain in May.
The choice of Hammond sends a powerful signal to Britain's European allies. In 2013, he said that if the European Union failed to change and failed to agree new terms for Britain's membership then he would rather leave the bloc.
The 58 year-old official was born in Epping, in Southern England and unlike other Conservative party members he studied at a public school before graduating at Oxford with a Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree.
He volunteered for the Conservative party in the 80s, and was elected for Parliament in 1997, after losing the elections in 1994. “Philip resolved to stand for Parliament when he realized that the Thatcher/Major era would come to an end with much work remaining undone,” according to the Conservative party website.
Since then, the right-wing MP climbed up the ladder within the party and in 2010 he was appointed Secretary of State for Transport, before arriving at the Defense Ministry in 2011.
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Read all commentsTainted? What a nonsensical choice of adjective!
Jul 16th, 2014 - 06:00 am 0Comes across as a very level headed pragmatic guy. Like Hague, totally outclasses that swivel eyed raving looney Gollum.
Jul 16th, 2014 - 07:13 am 0Good things and bad things in this article. First thing, someone in MercoPress has finally realised that a political grouping is a “bloc” not a “block”. Finally managed to get over English as opposed to Amerish. Now we're on to “skepticism”. No, it's not. It's “scepticism” and “sceptic”. And, on the subject of proper English, Hammond didn't go to a “public” school. He went to a “state” school.
Jul 16th, 2014 - 10:29 am 0And, as pointed out @1, “tainted” is a very poor choice. “Tainted” is indicative of contamination. How can one be “contaminated” with commonsense and intelligence?
It's important to note that, if he acts in accordance with his stated views, the appointment of Hammond signals the start of the political and verbal war against the EU. Preferably to the point where the EU is destroyed and renamed “the British Empire”. With Europe united under proper leadership, including informing Switzerland that it joins or else, the Empire can proceed to destroy its enemies. Invading troops will be drawn from Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania. Anybody we can do without! Although we could probably do without France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain as well. But we'll need to increase shipbuilding in order to ship the 200 million troops to latam. Half the world's problems solved when they get together and have a crap. In argieland. It's all win-win!
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