Kwasi Kwarteng has been ousted as the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer a mere six weeks after landing the role as part of Prime Minister Liz Truss‘ newly formed government.
Kwarteng was reportedly fired by Truss early Friday, October 14th 2022 amidst market turbulence and domestic discontent.
Following his dismissal, the Prime Minister is set to announce the government would abandon key parts of Kwarteng’s controversial ‘mini budget’ laid out on September 23rd, including a series of largely unfunded tax cuts.
Among the policies on the chopping block are Kwarteng’s pledge to reverse predecessor Rishi Sunak’s hike of corporation tax from 19% to 25%, estimated to cost around £19 billion by 2026, and a 1.25% cut to dividend tax.
The government earlier this month abolished its plan to scrap the top rate of income tax after a substantial public backlash, but this failed to quell market turbulence.
Kwarteng on Thursday rushed back from the U.S where he was attending the G7 summit with African finance ministers in Washington DC.
CNBC reports Truss had been facing immense public opposition over her economic policies and risked being ousted by her own party after such a short period in charge.
Amidst political and financial turmoil, Truss pulled the trigger on firing Kwarteng after weeks of resolutely standing together over the government’s chosen economic policies.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com