Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has quit his job after 38 days in charge of the nation’s finances after being asked to “stand aside” by Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP has been appointed as Mr Kwarteng’s replacement.
Mr Kwarteng met with Prime Minister Liz Truss today at no.10 to discuss his future.
Media reports have suggested that Mr Kwarteng was fired and his letter to Ms Truss suggests he had little choice but to quit.
Mr Kwarteng was widely criticised for his near disastrous growth ‘mini-Budget’ on 23 September which let to turmoil for stock markets, the pound and government bonds.
His expected exit comes amid growing speculation that the government will soon ‘unwind’ many of the changes he announced in the mini-Budget.
Mr Kwarteng described the mini-Budget as a ‘fiscal statement’, allowing it to be presented without an explanation of how the tax changes he announced would be paid for. He was due to present his plans for funding the mini-Budget on 31 October to MPs.
Ms Truss is due to provide a statement later today on the Chancellor’s position.
The Chancellor published a letter at lunchtime today about his dismissal. He said it had been an “honour” to serve in Ms Truss’s administration and he believed her vision was “the right one.”
Mr Kwarteng returned early this week from an IMF conference in Washington DC as concerns grew about the Bank of England’s bond purchase programme, due to end today.
Mr Kwarteng was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 6 September as one of Ms Truss’s first major appointments.
In his mini-Budget on 23 September he announced a surprise comprehensive package of tax cuts and other tax changes including:
• Axing the 45% higher rate income tax band for those earning more than £150,000
• Bringing forward a reduction in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% to April 2023
• Reversing a 1.25 percentage point rise in national insurance
• Scrapping the cap on bankers’ bonuses
• Reversing a planner rise in Corporation Tax from 19% to 25%
Mr Kwarteng was previously Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and had been a Minister of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
He read classics and history at Trinity College, Cambridge, and attended Harvard University on a Kennedy Scholarship. He earned a PhD in economic history from the University of Cambridge in 2000. Before becoming an MP he was a financial services analyst and has also authored a number of books, including ‘Thatcher’s Trial.’
• This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
