In this article, you will learn who is the financial minister of the UK. UK Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng has been fired by Prime Minister Liz Truss after the tax cuts he announced in September sent financial markets into a tailspin. His departure leaves the fate of draft laws to regulate stablecoins in the hands of former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, who was named to replace Kwarteng shortly after.
Who is the Financial Minister of the UK?
The U.K's fourth finance minister this year, Jeremy Hunt, was appointed by Prime Minister Liz Truss. Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport from 2010 to 2012. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2012 to 2018 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Surrey since 2005.
Many remember Hunt for his prior bids to be leader of the Conservative party; he lost to Boris Johnson in 2019 and was knocked out of the first round of voting in the 2022 leadership contest, securing the support of only 18 Members of Parliament.
During his latter leadership bid in July, Hunt wanted to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15%, a view that is now in opposition to what he announced in Monday’s emergency fiscal statement. Under Kwarteng, the U.K. was set to scrap a planned increase in the corporate tax rate from 19% to 25% in April that was announced under the Johnson government.
Nevertheless, Hunt is seen by his peers as a reliable pair of hands.
UK Financial Minister’s Thought on Crypto
Hunt is a “tech entrepreneur” who wanted to make the U.K. the next Silicon Valley-style innovation hub. The Financial Services and Markets Bill includes measures to give legal status to stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies tethered to the value of other assets like gold or the U.S. dollar.
The bill was first announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April as he sought to make the country a crypto hub, and shortly before he resigned in protest over a series of scandals plaguing Johnson, who was prime minister then. The bill was published in July under Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, and was first debated in Parliament the day after Kwarteng was appointed in September.
While the bill was scheduled to be debated in the House of Commons committee next Wednesday, its fate is now unclear. So, indeed, is the fate of Truss, who appears set to reverse course on the corporation tax cuts that formed the centerpiece of her leadership campaign against Sunak.
Bottom Line
The U.K., like other countries, is grappling with a once-in-a-generation cost of living crisis brought on by soaring energy prices linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing global supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And this article is about who is the financial minister of the UK.
