What the papers say: Philip Hammond must 'belt up'

Philip Hammond, of all people, ought to ‘relish’ Brexit and the opportunity it will hand to Chancellors to set their own tax rates. But in ‘yet another blunder’, says the Sun, the current occupant of No.11 has told the French that Britain won’t lower taxes. ‘Has he gone made?’ the paper asks. Back in January, Hammond said that lower taxes and limited regulation could be an important way of luring businesses to Britain after Brexit. ‘As a Conservative, that is exactly what he should be saying’. Now, though, says the Sun, ‘he has contradicted himself’. Whatever level the Chancellor plans to set tax rates, ‘why make any promises and surrender a potent bargaining chip?’, asks the Sun. Hammond’s ‘dismal gloom’ and his ‘obvious desire for Brexit to be virtually invisible’ is making the Chancellor something of a ‘liability’ says the Sun. ‘The Prime Minister must tell him to belt up,’ the paper concludes.