Mark Hargreaves

## Signature

**Mark Arthur James Hargreaves** (born 21 October 1964) is a British politician, known as "Mr. Bombastic" by colleagues, friends and the media, who formally served as **Chancellor of the Exchequer** from 25 May 2015 all the way until June 2016, he also served during that time as **First Secretary of State** from the 1 December 2015 all the way until June 2016. Before this, he served in the **Cabinet** as **President of the Board of Trade & Business Secretary** from 2010 to 2015. Before his career as a politician, he worked in the Treasury as a civil servant, from 1989 to 2004, leaving as **Head of Operational Policy**. A member of the **Conservative Party**, he has been the Member of Parliament for **Torridge & West Devon** since 2005. He is the first person since 1894 to have been appointed to serve as Chancellor under two different Prime Ministers and the first to do so consecutively.

Hargreaves has been described by supporters as the champion of a more conventional type of politics, one without mud-slinging. However, during his tenure as **Chancellor**, it has been widely reported that many relationships between the **Chancellor** and some members of the **Cabinet** have been strained to say the least. The former **Chancellor** is known as being a man who rarely caves in to his fellow Ministers. An example of this was in the weeks preceding his **Autumn Statement**, where the **Housing Secretary** and a the time **Chancellor** announced a statement to be held on the same day as his **Autumn Statement**. It soon transpired, sources claim, that the **Hargreaves** gave the Minister "A swift but brutal put down," after which **Mr. Osborne** withdrew his statement announcement.

Hargreaves has been described, by a Cabinet Office Investigation that cleared him, as *"brash or bombastic"*, however *"he consistently meets the high standards required by the ministerial code."* Shortly after the investigation cleared him, he was appointed **First Secretary of State** by Prime Minister Dennison.

In late June 2016, however, **Hargreaves** would resign as **Chancellor of the Exchequer ,** culminating in the **Hargreaves scandal**

## Early Life

Hargreaves was born in Ealing to Sir Arthur (Born. 1933) and Barbara (Born. 1935) Hargreaves, his mother was a School Teacher and his father was a civil servant, rising to become Cabinet Secretary in 1990, retiring in 2002. He attended Bourne Grammar School in Bourne, Lincolnshire, becoming the head boy. He went to the University of St Andrews, where he gained a Bachelor of Science (BSc), and later gained a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in economics from St Edmund Hall, Oxford.

## Civil Service Career

After leaving University in 1989, Hargreaves followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Civil Service as a Treasury Policy Advisor, while his father was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. He was promoted in the summer of 1995 to Head of Operational Policy of the Treasury while his father was Cabinet Secretary and while his life-long mentor, Sir Terence Burns, was Permanent Secretary. He decided to leave the service in the Spring of 2004 to begin a career in politics.

## Early Political Career

### Opposition (2005 - 2010)

After leaving the service in 2004, he joined the Conservative Party, running for to be the MP for Torridge and West Devon, and he was elected in the 2005 election. He began working in the Party as a senior Economic advisor to the new Leader, David Cameron, and within the year, he was appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. However, biographers and close friends of Hargreaves have noted his utter and complete hatred of George Osborne, he considered Mr. Osborne to be a "Jumped up, ignorant, posh twat." Their relationship was so difficult that in 2006, Cameron moved Hargreaves to shadow President of the Board of Trade & Business Secretary.

### Coalition Government (2010 - 2015)

Hargreaves, upon the Conservatives entering power, was appointed Business Secretary & Board of Trade President.

In July 2010, Hargreaves sought to reform credit lines amid a "significant demand" (according to the Forum of Private Business) of smaller firms finding it harder to secure loans. Among a range of proposals published in a green paper, he urged banks to limit bonus and dividend payments to "pre-crisis and 2009 levels respectively", the green paper stating that such a move would enable banks to retain £10,000,000,000 of additional capital in 2010 could in turn sustain £50,000,000,000 of new lending.

Beginning in 2010 and continuing throughout the coalition's tenure in office, Hargreaves led the drive for deregulation; notably the "Red Tape Challenge" to reduce existing regulation and the "One In, One Out" rule to limit any future regulation, he agreeing with the need for a "bonfire of regulations".

In an article in May 2012, Hargreaves denounced the "red tape factories" of the European Union, calling for increased deregulation and labour market flexibility, as well as the expansion of the Single Market and scrapping of the Working Time Directive. He revealed that at a recent meeting of European economic ministers, a group of like-minded nations had formed in making these same demands.

In September 2012, Hargreaves and his department colleague Michael Fallon announced a large package of deregulation for businesses, including scrapping 3,000 regulations and implementing exemptions from health and safety inspections for shops, pubs, and offices. He claimed that businesses should not be "tied up in unnecessary red tape". Days later Hargreaves announced further deregulation involving changes to employment laws, proposing to reduce employee compensation for unfair dismissals and allowing employers and employees to agree to an out-of-court 'pay off' for under-performance dismissals.

#### Royal Mail Privatisation

As Business Secretary, Hargreaves oversaw the privatisation of the Royal Mail in 2013. The share price increased by 38% within a day and 70% in a year. The National Audit Office said that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was too cautious when setting the sale price, but that a planned postal workers' union strike also affected the government's sale price. Hargreaves refused to apologise, and said that the Government had been right to take a cautious approach, pointing out that the sale had raised £2,000,000,000 for the taxpayer, with a further £1,500,000,000 from the 30% stake in Royal Mail which it had retained. The NAO also noted that some "priority investors", had made significant profits following the sale, having been allocated more shares in the belief that they would form part of a stable and supportive shareholder base. However, almost half of the shares allocated to them had been sold within a few weeks of the sale.

## Tenure as Chancellor

Upon the election of Dame Theresa May as Conservative Leader and Prime Minister, Hargreaves was promoted from Business Secretary to Chancellor. He's served as Chancellor since the 25th of May 2015. As Chancellor, he's been known as uncompromising and unyielding, with the Newspaper **Guido Fawkes** describing him as a man who *"Rattles"* some of his Cabinet colleagues.

### HMRC & Tax Avoidance Reform

On the 14th of July 2015, Chancellor Hargreaves gave a statement outside the Treasury offices in Whitehall, in it, he announced reforms to the powers of the HMRC and additional powers to tackle the Tax Gap.

He said the following:

> *"The Treasury, after the next budget has been passed will be working cross-department, with the Home Office and Justice Department, to establish a joint-interdepartmental committee to draft a plan of what powers can be conferred to HMRC to ensure that the Tax Gap and future Tax Avoidance is eliminated in the years to come."*
> *"In so doing, the Treasury will allocate £560 Million to the HMRC and the Committee in question, as a means of securing an end to the ever-present situation of continual tax avoidance."*
>
> - Chancellor Hargreaves, 14 July 2015

He described Tax Avoidance as

> *"unacceptable and incompatible with a fair society, and with a balanced budget."*
>
> - Chancellor Hargreaves, 14 July 2015

### Cabinet Salary Reform

On the 18th of August 2015, Chancellor Hargreaves gave a statement outside Treasury offices, in the statement he barred all Cabinet Minister without policy oversight from ever receiving a Government Salary. Although, as Guido Fawkes pointed out, this *"affects almost solely the Deputy Prime Minister."* They also described this as a *"Bold move from the Chancellor"* while also saying that *"this has rattled other Cabinet Ministers close to the Deputy Prime Minister."*

#### Relationship with Cabinet Colleagues

Chancellor Hargreaves' relationships with his fellow members of the Cabinet have been strained to say the least, with sources from inside Cabinet even saying that, with cabinet members who refused to accept Treasury policy, he would raise his voice and begin *"putting the Minister in his place,"* although they also report that *"this method is yet to fail in delivering government policy."*

The Cabinet Office investigation into the Chancellor's conduct found that *"His approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that may be described as brash or bombastic"*

### Spending Review & Autumn Statement 2015

In October 2015, the Chancellor gave his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons. The statement was praised by supporters and critics alike as a "marvelous way of balancing fiscal and compassionate conservatism."

The Autumn Statement promised pay increases above inflation for teachers, 55 new hospitals by 2021, upgrades to every area of public service, while at the same time tackling tax avoidance, and overall, balancing the budget by 2020. The OBR Forecast that the Government is on full track to achieve a balanced budget by the fiscal year 2020/2021. This is not an exhaustive list and there are many more policies.

The Shadow Chancellor's, George Balls, response was described by parliamentary sources as *"all over the place,"* *"a complete mess"* and *"a feckless shambles."* His response mainly consisted of, as Chancellor Hargreaves described them, *"Stupid rhetorical questions"* and *"petty ideological labels."* By all accounts, Hargreaves made mincemeat of Balls. With Balls at one point even demanding a cut to the rate of tax, Hargreaves pounced back and said the following:

> *"Mr. Speaker, on his final point, he says we should cut the bottom rate of tax. My lord Mr. Speaker. A CUT TO TAX. During an economic crisis with a deficit looming over, he wants to damage our long-term security for what? For short-term political advantage. In this party we stand as the defenders of Britain's economy, of fiscal competence. In that, in removing all doubt that they will never cut down the deficit and balance the budget. They have proven that they are not a party with a shred of economic credibility."'*
>
> - Chancellor Hargreaves, October 2015

### Armed Forces Bank Holiday

Days after the Labour Party proposed a bill to create Armed Forces Day a Bank Holiday, the Chancellor consulted with Civil Servants and declared Armed Forces a Bank Holiday on the 3rd Saturday of June by Statutory Instrument.

### The Acquired Brain Injury Bill

The Labour Party, in supporting a bi-partisan campaign, proposed a bill which would require the Health Secretary to draft a strategy and would require Treasury funds in a non-specified period of time. The Treasury refused to confer upon it a signature of funding permission, so the Chancellor decided that the bill was worth fighting for, so he decided to meet with the Shadow Health Secretary to attempt to reach a reasoned conclusion.

### May Resignation

In November 2015, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, resigned. She blamed the need for her resignation on "dominant male figures who want to topple you." She specifically mentioned *"even one next door to the very building I am in front of, the Chancellor of the Exchequer."* Her final action as PM was to sack Mr. Hargreaves.

The accusations were later proven false by a Cabinet office investigation.

#### Accusations & Investigation

Mr. Hargreaves, after having been accused of sexism and bullying by May, commissioned an investigation into himself. The investigation by the Cabinet office established that *"The Chancellor had consistently met the high standards required by the ministerial code of treating his civil servants and colleagues with dignity and respect."*

It goes on to say *"His approach on occasions has amounted to behaviour that may be described as* **brash or bombastic**, *but we are unable to substantiate the allegations made by the former Prime Minister."*

#### Restoration as Chancellor

Mr. Hargreaves was re-appointed as Chancellor upon the election of Prime Minister Thomas L. Dennison.

In response to the accusations made by Theresa May, Hargreaves decided to set a new rule on Prime Ministerial Pensions, that no Prime Minister can take a Treasury Pension after having served less than two Parliamentary years. The decision has been praised as a democratic reform, however critics say the timing and the accusations were deciding factors.