Stephen Crabb: New Work and Pensions Secretary tipped for top job
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Version 0 of 1. Until now, Stephen Crabb has been best known for three things: his beard (the Preseli Pembrokeshire MP is the first Tory cabinet minister to have so much facial hair since 1905), growing up on a council estate, and chatter that he will one day lead the Conservatives. Even Mr Crabb’s political enemies have tipped him for the top. Elfyn Llwyd, the former Westminster leader of Plaid Cymru, used to meet Mr Crabb about once a fortnight when he was Welsh secretary during the last parliament. My Llwyd told The Independent on Sunday: “He’s no-nonsense, intelligent. I always considered him a person you could do business with. I would say he’s one to watch and one of those who could be vying for the leadership at some point.” The 43-year-old’s humble upbringing means he is often portrayed as a “wet”, but he has shown fierce support for Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms. Last year, Mr Crabb argued that Conservatives “can’t go soft on welfare reforms in Wales – it’s precisely the place that needs it”. Although he holds a comfortable majority of nearly 5,000, such views have not always endeared him to constituents. Mr Crabb was also caught up in the expenses scandal in 2009. He claimed more than £8,000 to refurbish his London flat which he sold at a profit. He then “flipped” his second-home expenses from this flat to a family home he was buying in Wales, allowing him to claim £1,325 in interest on the mortgage. He said at the time: “I haven’t claimed for things like plasma TVs, even though the rules allow it. My claims were always within the letter and the spirit of the rules.” His reputation, though, has since been restored to the extent that some bookies now have him at just 16-1 to succeed David Cameron, a result that would see him go beard-to-beard with Jeremy Corbyn. |