Theresa May is set to snub her chancellor, Philip Hammond, by leaving him off her resignation honours list, while handing a peerage to her chief of staff, Gavin Barwell.

The former prime minister is finalising the names on her list, which is expected to see several senior members of her staff elevated to the House of Lords. She is also considering handing honours to some of her closest political allies.

As one of her most senior and longest serving ministers, Mr Hammond – a former foreign secretary and defence secretary – would have been eligible for an honour.

But in a sign of how their relationship soured during her time in office, he is understood to have missed out entirely.

Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond visit an engineering training facility in the West Midlands. November 20, 2017

One friend of the PM said: ‘Nobody can read Theresa’s mind but I’d be astonished if she gave Philip anything. He blocked and frustrated her for three years even at the very end he was still doing everything he could to be obstructive.’

By contrast, David Cameron put his chancellor, George Osborne, at the top of his honours list by making him a Companion of Honour. That is a rare award for ‘nationally important service’, which is ranked above a knighthood and allows the recipient to put CH after their name, can be held by only 65 people at any one time. Mrs May is expected to hand a peerage to Mr Barwell – the former Croydon MP who joined her in No10 as her chief of staff after losing his seat in the catastrophic 2017 election – and at least one other senior staff member.

Prime Minister Theresa May with Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond arriving at Conservative Party Conference, Day Two in Birmingham, UK on 3rd October 2016

But her list is understood to be much shorter than her predecessor’s, comprising around 20 names. Mr Cameron handed gongs to 48 former colleagues and allies and named 13 new Tory peers. Mrs May and her chancellor were friends when she entered No10 in 2016, but their relationship very quickly deteriorated.

In her early months in office her allies raged at his gloomy tone which damaged relations with Eurosceptic Tory MPs.

Critics also accused him of frustrating No Deal planning by refusing to provide adequate funding to government departments to get ready and in her final months in office he was seen in No10 as a constant thorn in her side.