UK PM Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as new Finance Minister

From 9 July 2018 to 24 July 2019, Jeremy Hunt served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. In May 2005, he was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey.

Image Credit: Reuters

London: Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer of the British government on Friday after Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng after the economic turmoil unleashed by his mini-budget.In a tweet, the Conservative Party wrote, "@Jeremy_Hunt has been appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer," confirming the Ministers`s appointment. In a letter to PM which was also shared on his Twitter account, Kwarteng said, "You have asked me to stand aside as your Chancellor. I have accepted."This new development came after the value of British government bonds plunged in the wake of the new "mini-budget" of September 23, which created the outrage that ultimately cost him his job. Meanwhile, Liz Truss`s eight-minute press conference has done little to shift the narrative that she is losing control of the Conservative Party, the public and Britain`s economy, CNN reported.

Tory lawmakers were notably quiet on social media after the news conference finished, but Truss was roundly attacked by opposition MPs."None of this is fair on our country and the people whose lives and livelihoods are hanging in the balance because of this shambles of a government," CNN quoted Labour`s shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting as saying after Truss`s press conference. The political career of Jeremy Hunt has been vast and the minister has served numerous designations.

Earlier, Hunt served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 9 July 2018 to 24 July 2019. He was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey in May 2005, according to the official website of the UK government. In May 2010 Jeremy was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. Jeremy Hunt also served as the 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.

Today the Prime Minister appointed her new Chancellor @Jeremy_Hunt.

Together they are committed to delivering the strong and sustained growth Britain needs to transform the prosperity of our country for years to come. pic.twitter.com/jSaHZKGEi8

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) October 14, 2022

Earlier, on September 23, the UK Finance Minister announced the biggest tax cuts in 50 years and said that the government needed a "new approach for a new era, focused on growth."The UK Treasury said that the tax cuts, including the slash of the top rate of income tax to 40 per cent from 45 per cent, reductions in duties paid on house purchases, and the cancellation of a planned hike in business taxes, would wipe 45 billion Euros off government revenues over the next five years, according to CNN.