Jeremy Hunt

2022 - 10 - 17

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Image courtesy of "BBC News"

Pressure mounts on Liz Truss ahead of Jeremy Hunt statement (BBC News)

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to U-turn on more of the government's tax-cutting plans.

"She is the prime minister at the moment, we will not have an election for the next couple of years. It would be best for the party… Under current Conservative Party rules, Ms Truss is safe from a no confidence vote by Tory MPs to oust her for a year. if we don't have another leadership campaign," he told Today. "It's done... He said the appointment of Mr Hunt had "begun to repair some of the damage" but a change of prime minister was needed as well.

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No U-turn from Jeremy Hunt on scrapping bankers' bonus cap (The Guardian)

New chancellor made no mention of policy in economic update but Treasury sources confirm he will go ahead with controversial move.

A Treasury source rejected the suggestion and said further details would be released at the end of the month. The Bank of England also warned at the time that the cap would lead to a rise in fixed-salary costs and squeeze bank finances. A source familiar with the plans confirmed that City regulators were still preparing to consult on the rule changes this autumn. However, Hunt has not made any commitment to follow suit, despite fears that banks would now have to prepare for taxes worth 33%, rather than 28% as previously promised. “What a contrast, that cuts to benefits are still on the table, but the one thing the chancellor couldn’t bring himself to reverse today was lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses. The hope was that, with less of an individual’s pay riding on performance, there would be a lower incentive for risky behaviour.

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Jeremy Hunt has taken his scalpel to Liz Truss's budget – now the ... (The Guardian)

Emergency surgery on Trussonomics was vital, but years of grind now lie ahead, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff.

Years of grind lie ahead as Britain is called out not just for the madness of making Truss prime minister but before that the madness of Brexit, and perhaps also a more longstanding sense of decline. A painful readjustment looms not just of the public finances, but of Britain’s idea of itself. The way he kept repeating the word “stability”, meanwhile, suggests that whatever Tory MPs or indeed a deeply humiliated Truss herself may want, Hunt and the circle of Sunak-backers around him think she has to stay on for now, if only to avoid the immediate chaos of a leadership contest or general election that may well fail to deliver a mandate for such bitter economic medicine. Watching this statement, that seemed for a moment believable, for this was not the fiscal package of someone out to court popularity. The new chancellor’s friends insist he isn’t after Truss’s job, even though he ran for it in the summer and is pretty much now doing it in all but name. Not just the obviously gangrenous parts of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s budget, like her corporation rate tax cut or the abolition of the 45p tax rate, but pretty much everything still within reach of his scalpel.

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Image courtesy of "Financial Times"

Liz Truss apologises for chaos caused to Britain by mini-Budget (Financial Times)

'We went too far, too fast,' says PM in TV interview after new chancellor rips up her economic policy in bid to calm markets.

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Jeremy Hunt scraps almost all mini-budget as Liz Truss battles to ... (BBC News)

Mr Hunt announced he was scrapping "almost all" of the tax cuts announced by the government last month, in a bid to stabilise the financial markets. A minister ...

Allies of Ms Truss have acknowledged it was a crucial 24 to 48 hours for her premiership. You can also get in touch in the following ways: She also denied there had been a "coup" to remove her. Instead, Ms Truss sent Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt in her place for the clash. He told Sky News: "I think her position is untenable. Ms Truss had previously ruled out a further windfall tax on energy companies. A penny cut in income tax due in April will now not happen. Former chief whip Andrew Mitchell said the prime minister had just a fortnight to save her premiership and "if she cannot do the job, she will be replaced". In a series of tense exchanges, Ms Mourdant told MPs the "prime minister is not under a desk" hiding to avoid difficult decisions. A minister had to deny Ms Truss was hiding "under a desk" after the prime minister did not attend a clash with Sir Keir Starmer in the Commons. Asked if he would introduce a "proper" windfall tax on energy companies, Mr Hunt said he was "not against the principle" of taxing profits that are "genuine windfalls", adding that "nothing is off the table". Mr Hunt announced he was scrapping "almost all" of the tax cuts announced by the government last month, in a bid to stabilise the financial markets.

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Jeremy Hunt says Liz Truss will still be PM at Christmas and calls on ... (Sky News)

In an interview with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, the new chancellor called on Conservative MPs to "give her a chance". He also ruled out becoming ...

who opposed the measures I announced today. , Mr Hunt replied: "She's prime minister, she has got important decisions to make. He has hinted at further U-turns in a bid to balance the books, telling the Commons this afternoon that he is not against the windfall tax "in principle" - something the Ms Truss is opposed to. In a further diversion from Ms Truss' policies, Mr Hunt also failed to commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence - a key pledge made by the prime minister during the Conservative leadership race. Pressed on why Ms Truss is still in the job, he continued: "I would rather a leader who listens, learns and changes and I think we would have more instability, much more instability, if we were to have a leadership process." [as effectively the "caretaker prime minister"](https://news.sky.com/story/trusss-economic-vision-is-not-only-dead-but-the-complete-opposite-policy-will-be-pursued-12720860) after he was brought in to restore economic stability following weeks of turmoil on the financial markets.

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Hunt rips up almost all of mini-budget and scales back energy help (The Guardian)

In what amounts to utter humiliation for the prime minister, who now seems stripped of any political authority, the new chancellor said the only remaining tax ...

He added: “That is why we need a general election, to take them out of power and end this crisis.” However, this can be changed by the 1922 Committee, which represents Tory backbenchers. Angela Richardson, the MP for Guildford since 2019, told Times Radio: “I just don’t think that it is tenable that she can stay in her position any longer. She added: “The chancellor said growth requires ‘confidence and stability’ yet it’s clear that the Tories can’t provide this. We are still flying blind with no [Office for Budget Responsibility] forecasts and no clarity of the impact of their mistakes.” Truss had been “detained on urgent business”, Mordaunt told the Commons, to laughter from opposition MPs.

Watch live: UK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt delivers emergency ... (CNBC)

New U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is announcing parts of his medium-term fiscal plan, bringing forward the policy statement in an effort to calm ...

However, the full medium-term fiscal plan is still set to be published on Oct. 31, accompanied by a forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility — something that was lacking in the original mini-budget announced on Sept. [The stream is slated to start at 6 a.m.

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Gilts and pound rally as Jeremy Hunt aims to steady market with ... (Financial Times)

Thirty-year government borrowing costs remain far above the level of about 3.75 per cent seen before last month's £45bn of unfunded tax cuts sent markets into a ...

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British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to scrap 'almost all' tax measures ... (thejournal.ie)

Hunt is expected to address the House of Commons and will take questions from MPs this afternoon.

“At a time when markets are rightly demanding commitment to sustainable public finances. “We have taken action to chart a new course for growth that supports and delivers for people across the United Kingdom.” The new chancellor said that after April, the scheme will be reviewed to find a cheaper alternative that will be more targeted to support “those in need”. Hunt also confirmed that there would be cuts in spending, saying that there would need to be “difficult decisions”. “So I decided that the basic rate of income tax will remain at 20% and it will do so indefinitely until economic circumstances allow for it to be cut,” Hunt added. In a statement this morning, Hunt said that he would be reversing “almost all the tax measures announced in the growth plan” and that the proposed basic income tax cut from 20% to 19% would not go ahead indefinitely.

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Jeremy Hunt shreds Truss's economic plans in astounding U-turn on ... (The Guardian)

New chancellor tells Commons there will be tax rises and spending cuts, as PM dodges urgent question.

The yield on 30-year gilts fell by 0.4 percentage points to 4.37%, reversing some of the increase since Kwasi Kwarteng announced Mordaunt said the prime minister was not in hiding. “That means decisions of eye-watering difficulty,” he said. That is my message to my colleagues.” One member of the 1922 executive said the group could take action this week, either by changing the rules or sending Brady to tell Truss it was over. Truss declined to appear at the dispatch box in parliament on Monday despite calls from Labour, leading one cabinet minister to clarify she was not “hiding under a desk”. “I am not against the principle of taxing profits that are genuine windfalls,” he told the Commons. In her BBC interview, Truss said she intended to stay on as prime minister. And now we need to deliver for people what we’ve said we’ll deliver. “I’m sticking around because I was elected to deliver for this country. [Conservatives](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/conservatives) into the next general election … Estimates of what it would take to achieve this range between £60bn and £72bn.

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Jeremy Hunt is now in charge (Financial Times)

Some Tory MPs may conclude it is better to pretend that the chancellor is really PM and see how far it takes them.

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What to Know About Jeremy Hunt—Now Britain's Most Powerful ... (TIME)

The U.K.'s new finance minister scrapped almost all of Prime Minister Liz Truss's tax plans, as her premiership looks increasingly shaky.

[calling him](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-liz-trusss-news-conference-after-finance-minister-sacked-2022-10-14/) “one of the most experienced and widely respected government ministers and parliamentarians” in a news conference Friday. [tax rate to 15%](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/flashback-hunt-demands-15p-corporation-tax), a view that is now in opposition to what he announced in Monday’s emergency fiscal statement. [2016 dispute with junior doctors](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/01/jeremy-hunt-five-day-doctors-strike-worst-in-nhs-history) over National Health Service contracts and pay for evening and weekend work. During his tenure, Hunt said he did “everything I could” in his role to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The pound gained and gilt yields dropped as the new chancellor set out his emergency measures aimed at stabilizing the extremely choppy waters of the last couple of weeks,” Green said. Additionally, the basic rate of income tax was due to be cut from 20% to 19%. Today, he unraveled the economic agenda she established with his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng, who was fired after [just 38 days](https://news.sky.com/story/kwasi-kwartengs-38-days-as-chancellor-12720243) on the job, following his “mini budget” last month that [entailed a series of](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/kwasi-kwarteng-sacked-chancellor-liz-truss-tax-press-conference-b1032759.html) unfunded tax cuts for the wealthy that angered the public, spooked markets, and saw the British pound tumble to a 37-year low. In May 2010, Hunt was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, a role in which he oversaw the successful 2012 London Olympics. Hunt will outline a full budget on Oct. He wielded that power on Monday to scrap “almost all” the deeply controversial tax cuts outlined in Kwarteng’s mini-budget. His tough stance resulted in the first junior doctor strikes in 40 years, with hospital staff in England walking out of routine and emergency care. Many view Truss’s decision to appoint Hunt as a move to calm investors’ nerves, and fend off calls for her to step aside.

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Jeremy Hunt announces new economic council to provide ... (Sky News)

The council's membership will include Rupert Harrison, who was chief of staff to former chancellor George Osbourne during the austerity era of 2010-2015, and ...

But the damage has been done. [Mr Kwarteng's dramatic sacking as chancellor](https://news.sky.com/story/kwasi-kwarteng-sacked-as-chancellor-after-mini-budget-turmoil-sky-news-understands-12719407) and the installation of Mr Hunt in an effort to reassure investors. Ms Truss became prime minister after winning the Tory leadership contest on the back of promises to dramatically cut tax and upend the status quo in the Treasury. "The Tories have run out of credibility and now they are running out of chancellors." Mr Hunt was in the Commons to set out further details of his economic plan, after reversing "almost all" of his predecessor's tax cuts and scaling back the energy bills freeze package. Jeremy Hunt announced the formation of a new economic council as he addressed MPs in the Commons after reversing almost all of Liz Truss' tax cuts.

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Who are the economic experts appointed to Jeremy Hunt's new ... (The Guardian)

Jeremy Hunt has recruited George Osborne's former chief of staff for a four-person panel of experts designed to show the government welcomes scrutiny of its ...

Before that he was a senior economist at the hedge fund Brevan Howard, and has also worked for Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. Criticising a reliance on control of public spending, he added: “Most are rightly sceptical of promises to cut public spending in three years’ time.” The former chancellor made a virtue of budget discipline and set tight tax and spending rules. She started her career at the Bank of England, providing supporting analysis for its interest rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC). She was Hammond’s top adviser on economic issues, tax and spending as well as Brexit during a time when the former chancellor pushed for a deal with the EU to leave the bloc and began to pivot from Osborne’s plan to eliminate the budget deficit. He left the Treasury to join BlackRock, where he is a fund manager and head of research for a team at the world’s biggest fund manager.

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New UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to rush out plans for fiscal U-turn (POLITICO.eu)

Statement expected around 11 a.m. setting out new plans for tax hikes and spending cuts.

“We are going to have to take some very difficult decisions, both on spending and on tax," Hunt told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday. Hunt is due to make a statement around 11 a.m. Hunt is currently in an unusually powerful position for a finance minister, having been drafted in from the backbenches specifically to save Truss from a deadly combination of economic chaos, mutinous backbench MPs and collapsing poll ratings.

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Jeremy Hunt: Britain's Mario Draghi takes the wheel (POLITICO.eu)

Hunt was named chancellor — the most senior position in government, beneath the prime minister — after Truss sacked her hitherto close ally Kwasi Kwarteng last ...

When it comes to economic policy, and much else, he is in a position to dictate terms for as long as she lasts.” chancellor, but “this government has now gone into such a close-to-doom position that the gravity of the Treasury orthodoxy is all it can think about.” Once you put someone in of such a different political opinion, you can't even claim this is about recognizing the markets and we are back on growth. Indeed, allies of Hunt have— perhaps optimistically— taken to referring to Hunt as 'Jeremy Draghi,' given the rescue job lying before him. He stressed the need for “confidence and stability" in the U.K. The markets also responded positively both to Hunt’s appointment and his first acts as chancellor. government would “make whatever tough decisions are necessary” to calm the markets. "Mrs Hunt rules it out. Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King's College London, compared the U.K. Giles Wilkes, a partner at Flint Global and former No. Three Hunt children rule it out." In a hastily-arranged TV statement Monday, Hunt struck a markedly different tone from the libertarian defiance of Truss and Kwarteng.

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Jeremy Hunt draws battle lines for next election (Financial Times)

Plus, Rishi Sunak would crush Liz Truss in leadership race rerun, according to new poll.

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