Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as UK chancellor and scraps corporation tax cut

[rebbonk]

Farage speaks a lot of sense.

[dutchman]

Jeremy Hunt remains chancellor in big cabinet reshuffle



Rishi Sunak has decided to keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, as the new PM conducts a major reshuffle of the cabinet team.

Mr Hunt was appointed to the job two weeks ago by former leader Liz Truss and reversed many of her tax cuts.

Suella Braverman is back as home secretary, days after quitting over sending an official document via personal email.

The man who replaced her, Grant Shapps, becomes business and energy secretary.

Despite speculation she could be given a top cabinet job, Mr Sunak's former leadership rival Penny Mordaunt will stay in the mid-ranking role of Commons leader.

Elsewhere, Dominic Raab is back as deputy PM and justice secretary, roles he held under ex-PM Boris Johnson.

Ben Wallace also remains defence secretary, a role he has held since Mr Johnson entered Downing Street in July 2019.

But nine cabinet ministers have left their posts, including top allies of Ms Truss such as ex-Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke and former Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith.

Sunak supporter Simon Hart has replaced Wendy Morton, another Truss ally, as the chief whip. Oliver Dowden, another supporter of Mr Sunak, has returned to the cabinet as Cabinet Office Minister.

Brandon Lewis, Robert Buckland, Kit Malthouse and Ranil Jayawardena have also left the cabinet, whilst Nadhim Zahawi has replaced Jake Berry as Conservative Party chairman.

In other departures, Vicky Ford has been sacked as a development minister at the Foreign Office.

Alok Sharma has lost his job as a Cabinet Office minister, although he will remain in charge of UK preparations for the COP27 UN climate summit to be held in Egypt next month.

[dutchman]

UK tax and spending plan pushed back by two weeks, says Hunt



A much-anticipated plan for UK tax and spending has been delayed by more than two weeks.

It was due on Monday, but Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said moving it to 17 November would mean it was based on the "most accurate" economic forecasts.

Mr Hunt had already scrapped his predecessor's plans for huge tax cuts which had sparked market turmoil due to fears over how they would be paid for.

This has calmed investors and removed the urgency for a new economic plan.

Mr Hunt said his top priority was "economic stability and restoring confidence that the United Kingdom is a country that pays its way."

The calmer market conditions mean the government will not have to pay as much to borrow money, potentially changing how much it needs to cut spending and raise taxes by to balance the books.

The economic plan will now be "upgraded" to a full autumn statement, suggesting wider tax decisions will be announced. It will be accompanied by an assessment of their impact on the UK growth and spending by independent financial forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Mr Hunt said the new "short two-and-a-half week delay" would ensure the tax and spending plans "stand the test of time".

The delay means the Bank of England will make its next decision on interest rates on 3 November without knowing the government plans.

It has already warned interest rates may need to rise by more than previously expected to help tackle soaring prices, with inflation rising to 10.1% last month.

Mr Hunt said he had discussed the delay to the economic statement with the governor of the Bank of England, who "understands" the decision.

[dutchman]

"Tax and Spend" used to be a derogatory term for Labour's economic policy!

[dutchman]

Nigel Farage says 'Hunt was the coup, Sunak is little more than a puppet!'