UK’s new chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who was appointed following Kwasi Kwarteng’s dismissal Friday, has told Sky News that there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwarteng’s mini-budget. Hunt told the media outlet, “It was a mistake when we were going to be asking for difficult decisions across the board on tax and spending to cut the rate of tax paid by the very wealthiest.”
He further said that the decision to “fly blind” was a mistake since the “fiscal event” was not accompanied with an economic forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Financial markets witnessed a huge turmoil which experts attribute to the reason cited by Hunt.
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Talking on the matter of tax cuts, Hunt said, “We won’t have the speed of tax cuts we were hoping for and some taxes will go up.”
“We’re going to have to take tough decisions on both spending and tax,” he added.
Kwarteng flew into London leaving an IMF meet in Washington early and was sacked soon after Friday. Several Tory MPs have welcomes Hunt’s appointment, while others have questioned the decision to sack Kwarteng arguing that he was pursuing Truss’s policies.
Prime Minister Liz Truss at a press conference dismissed calls for her resignation, saying she was “absolutely determined to see through what I have promised”. She took another U-turn on the matter of taxes and said, “It is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting, so the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change.”
She announced the planned rise in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent was being scrapped, saving the Exchequer £18bn a year.
(With inputs from agencies)
