By Oyintari Ben
UK’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt has promised to restore Britain’s economic credibility by accounting for every pound of the government’s tax and spending plans, while emphasizing that his boss, Prime Minister Liz Truss, remained in overall authority.
As trust in Truss’ capacity to govern the country began to erode within her own Conservative Party and on the global financial markets, she appointed Hunt on Friday in an effort to save her position as prime minister.
Since September 23, when Hunt’s predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, proposed a number of unfunded tax cuts without releasing a set of independent economic forecasts, investors have sold a significant amount of British government bonds.
The subsequent impacts increased mortgage costs and necessitated an emergency intervention by the Bank of England to safeguard pension funds, further straining the finances of Britons.
“Markets cannot be controlled by any government. No Chancellor ought to attempt that, “Hunt stated in an interview with news agencies on Sunday.
“There is one thing we can do, and I’m going to do it. I’m going to demonstrate to the markets, the rest of the world, and even folks watching at home that we can accurately account for every penny of our tax and spending commitments.”
Truss, who gained the Conservative Party’s leadership less than a month ago on the promise to cut taxes, sacked Kwarteng on Friday and abandoned a significant portion of the plan they developed together.
The upheaval has increased anger in the ruling party, which was already fractured and trailing the opposition Labour Party in surveys before Friday. Plans to replace Truss were widely reported in the newspapers on Sunday.
