Jeremy Hunt is announced as Chancellor, as Kwasi Kwarteng is sacked Amid Mini-Budget Chaos

The Great Reshuffle continues as Jeremy Hunt is announced as Chancellor, after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked as Chancellor after only 38 days on the job! This makes Kwarteng the second shortest serving Chancellor.

Jeremy Hunt was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey in May 2005. He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 9 July 2018 to 24 July 2019. Hunt was formerly Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 8 January 2018 to 9 July 2018 and was first appointed Secretary of State for Health in September 2012. In May 2010 Hunt was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. He was formerly Shadow Culture Secretary 2007 to 2010 and Shadow Minister for Disabled People 2005 to 2007.

PM Announces reversal of Corporation Tax cut announced in Mini Budget

Current Prime Minister, Liz Truss made an announcement after Kwarteng was sacked and Hunt appointed to the role of Chancellor that there was going to be a reversal in Corporation Tax changes, in the mini budget this was going to be reduced, now it will be increased and raise £18 Billion in taxes for the country.

The current Prime Minister said: “What I’ve done today is make sure we have economic stability”.

Background to the Reshuffle

On the 23rd September, Kwarteng unleashed chaos and turmoil on the economy with his mini-budget.

Within this mini-budget, he set out his Growth Plan 2022 and announced a shakeup of the benefits system to “get Britain working again”. However, rather than being beneficial to Britain, it ended up pushing the pound to a record low against the dollar, sent the cost of government borrowing and mortgage rates up and also led to an unprecedented intervention by the Bank of England.

In the past three years, the Conservative party has had four chancellors- Mr Kwarteng, Nadhim Zahawi, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid. The next Chancellor, which has been announced as Jeremy Hunt, will become the seventh chancellor in the last 12 years!

Following on from the chaos caused by yet another reshuffle, a group of senior Conservatives have publicly called on Liz Truss to resign following her sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt said:

“My focus is on growth underpinned by stability. The drive on growing the economy is right – it means more people can get good jobs, new businesses can thrive and we can secure world class public services. But we went too far, too fast.

“We have to be honest with people and we are going to have to take some very difficult decisions both on spending and on tax to get debt falling but the top of our minds when making these decisions will be how to protect and help struggling families, businesses and people.

“I will set out clear and robust plans to make sure government spending is as efficient as possible, ensure taxpayer money is well spent and that we have rigorous control over our public finances.”

Sector Response

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“The Conservatives’ kamikaze budget has already cost millions of people dear. Today’s U-turn will not help families already hit by higher mortgages and higher prices. And sacking the Chancellor for implementing the Prime Minister’s plans is not the total change of direction we need.

“Working people will remember the chaos and worry of these last few weeks. This government’s first priority was tax cuts for the wealthy and big business and removing the cap on bankers’ bonuses. You can’t trust the Tories with the nation’s finances.    

“We need a government that will do the right thing – starting with getting wages rising, getting more money into the pockets of working families and protecting our public services. That’s how we stop the coming recession and protect families in this cost-of-living emergency.”