Stephen Crabb steps down and Damian Green steps up as Work and Pensions Minister

Stephen Crabb stepped down from his position as Work and Pensions Secretary on Thursday whilst Theresa May made many 'high profile sackings'.

Crabb, who replaced Iain Duncan Smith earlier in 2016 said in a formal statement that the move is"in the best interests of my family".

Crabb also withdrew himself from the Conservative leadership race early on; he led his campaign with an ethos of strong family values but this was shattered with claims of explicit exchanges with another woman.

Mrs May quickly announced that Damian Green will be the new Pensions Secretary. Mr Green has been a member of the conservative party since 1997 and previously to his political career spent fifteen years as a business journalist for the BBC, The Times and Channel 4.

Philip Hammond has also been named as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer in place of George Osbourne. He was foreign secretary under David Cameron from 2014 to 2016, and previously Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Osbourne said "It's been a privilege to be Chancellor these last six yrs. Others will judge - I hope I've left the economy in a better state than I found it."

Hammond's initial statements suggest he intends to work on scaling back austerity in the UK by taking things at a slower pace. He also plans to reassure businesses whose confidence has been shaken over the last few weeks with plans to exit the EU.

Mr Hammond told the BBC's Today programme. "It has caused many businesses to pause investment decisions they were making."

His statements seems to have helped ease investor's post-Brexit vote fears, with the FTSE 100 index pushing 51.7 points higher at 6,722.5 in early trading.

First published 14.07.2016

ceripugh@wilmingtonplc.com