Rt Hon Philip Hammond

Philip Hammond was MP for Runnymede and Weybridge for 22 years from 1997 to 2019. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from July 2016 to July 2019, when he resigned. Prior to this he was Transport Secretary (May 2010-October 2011), Defence Secretary (Oct 2011-July 2014) and Foreign Secretary (July 2014 – July 2016).

Prior to his Ministerial career, Philip had a wide-ranging business career first in medical equipment in the U.K. and Europe, then in the energy sector and in property development and construction.

A key area of focus of Philip’s Chancellorship was the challenge of addressing the UK’s poor productivity performance and thus raising real wages. This led to a focus on skills, infrastructure and business investment as drivers of improved productivity.