Kwasi Kwarteng, the finance minister and close supporter of British Prime Minister Liz Truss, was removed. Hours later, she made a U-turn on their economic proposal in an effort to steady the financial markets and solidify her precarious leadership position just over a month after entering office.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will take over as chancellor of the Exchequer, the British treasury, according to the government. He is this year’s fourth chancellor.
Truss attended a press conference at Downing Street shortly after removing the finance minister. He was visibly tense as he said, “We need to act now to reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline.”
A fundamental component of the new government’s economic strategy that caused unrest in British politics and the financial markets and sent the pound plummeting late last month was the company tax cut that she said she was abandoning.
Truss’ reversal of course comes amid growing criticism of her administration from opposition lawmakers and members of her own party, as well as from global economists and investors who have persisted in selling off their holdings in Britain.
