Following the sacking of Kwarsi Kwarteng this morning, Liz Truss has now appointed Jeremy Hunt as the UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In a relatively abrupt televised press conference this afternoon, the prime minister has also confirmed that the government is not now going ahead with its proposed cut in corporation tax.
Mr Hunt becomes the UK’s fourth Chancellor in a year, following on from Kwarsi Kwarteng, Nadhim Zahawi, and Rishi Sunak.
Mr Hunt previously served in the Cabinet as the Culture Secretary, and Health Secretary under David Cameron, before later becoming Foreign Secretary under Theresa May.
Mr Hunt is therefore a well known figure with the public, with 84% of people saying they have heard of him in YouGov polls.
Mr Hunt is though not necessarily well regarded by the public, with the same YouGov indicators suggesting that only 16% report to like him, 44% reporting to dislike him, with 24% having a neutral view.
Before entering politics, Mr Hunt had a background as a successful publishing enterpreneur. In that sense he should be familiar with the government’s pro growth agenda. After a stint in Japan teaching English, Mr Hunt co-founded ‘Hotcourses’, a website designed to help students and parents choose the right college course. In 2017, Hunt reportedly earned some £15 million from the sale of Hotcourses.
As the UK’s longest ever serving health secretary, Mr Hunt’s experience in government is being seen as something that may help to calm financial markets.
Mr Hunt has twice stood for the Conservative leadership. He was beaten into second place by Boris Johnson in 2019, but failed to advance beyond the initial ballots of MPs in the 2022 contest.
Mr Hunt is widely seen as being on the ‘One Nation’ wing of the Conservative party. His appointment is therefore also being viewed as an attempt by Liz Truss to sure up her position and build bridges with all wings of the parliamentary Conservative party.
Representing the constituency of Surrey South West, Mr Hunt would comfortably lose his seat to the Liberal Democrats in any election held today. This once safe part of Surrey has become increasingly marginal in recent years, not least as ‘Remain’ supporting voters from the capital have moved into the area. His seat has seen one of the greatest migration of London based voters in recent years.
