As Jeremy Hunt was discarding one after another the tax cuts of the government’s flagship plan – the ‘mini-budget’ – the credibility of the British prime minister, Liz Truss, it slumped a little more. Now, just a few see it in the medium term at number 10 Downing Street. She, for her part, said on Monday that she accepted “responsibility” and that she asked for “forgiveness for the mistakes” that she had made, in reference to the tax cut that she promised when she assumed her position.
In an interview on the BBC, she showed that she is not willing to voluntarily resign from her position and defended that she will lead “the Conservatives in the next general election.” Truss castling occurs in the face of doubts about her continuity. Some people don’t even wait let the week end at the head of the country, since on Wednesday the so-called 1922 Committeethe organ of the Conservative Party with the capacity to present a motion of censure against its leader.
His attempt to calm things down and save his job by getting his finance minister out of the way, Kwasi KwartengIt hasn’t turned out as expected. Hunt has inaugurated her position by taking the reins of the country and showing the conservatives the authority and stability that the prime minister no longer shows.
The British Government cancels its fiscal plan to regain credibility
Although it is true that she has insisted that neither is he going to resign nor is he going to call elections generals, it is an open secret that their comrades in rank are preparing a rebellion. Parliamentarians like Crispin Blunt or Sir Charles Walker have even publicly demanded his head. “His situation is hugely precarious. As prime minister you have to hope that the party will not tolerate this situation for a long time, certainly not weeks,” the latter told the BBC 4.
The new finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, during an interview with the BBC.
So even if she doesn’t quit of her own free will, the Tories they can force her out of officeeither through a motion of confidence or with a wave of resignations like the one that ended the Government of Boris Johnson. That is precisely what senior members of the 1922 Committee discussed in a closed-door meeting that, according to The Times, took place on Friday night. A conversation that focused on how to get the Conservative leader to step to her side and who to put in her place.
Jeremy Hunt
In this new scenario, Hunt is presented as one of the preferred candidates to succeed Truss. Among other things because in record time (he has been in the position for three days) he has established himself as a solid lifesaver for conservatives at a time of extreme fragility. But also because he has extensive experience: he was Minister of Culture with David Cameron, of Foreign Affairs with Theresa May and of Health with both.
[Jeremy Hunt intenta frenar la revuelta ‘tory’: “Liz Truss está al mando” de Reino Unido]
In 2019, he appeared in the conservative primary, reached the final round and lost to Boris Johnson. This same year he also ran, although of the eight initial candidates he received the least support, with only 18 votes. He then backed former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, Truss’s main rival and another of the names enter the poolsalthough not in a conventional way.
Rishi Sunak and Penny Mourdant
Rumors about a possible plot have increased in recent days tory to replace Truss with a tandem made up of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, his two main rivals in the summer leadership race, who could be appointed without the need to hold another primary. Some, however, consider that elect a new head of government without an internal vote is undemocratic.
[Penny Mordaunt, la diputada que Johnson despreciaba y que ahora podría ocupar su puesto]
On paper, this formula is designed to reach most of the ideological foundations and quell the widespread discontent that has gripped the ranks Tories…and the voters. Without going any further, a survey of YouGov points out that half of those who opted for the conservatives in the last elections want them to expel the one who is the fourth prime minister of the last six years. In addition, 62% maintain that choosing Truss was the wrong decision.
Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt during the summer primary debate.
In this sense, Rishi Sunak, who warned about the financial consequences of cutting too many taxes too soon, would seem like the most logical alternative. However, this may not be to the liking of Truss’s supporters and, in addition, many see him as a traitor for being the instigator of the riot that brought down Johnson.
And that’s where it comes in Penny Mordaunt, a relatively new face that remained intact during the Johnson era and had broad base support during the primaries. In addition, during the last month, Mordaunt has served as leader of the House of Commons, which has allowed him to stay out of the controversial ‘mini-budget’.
ben wallace
The current British defense minister, Ben Wallace, has also managed to get away from the chaos generated by the fiscal plan presented by Truss and Kwarteng. After Johnson’s forced resignation in July, many pointed to him as the new occupant of Downing Street, although he decided not to run for leadership. If he now decided to do it, he would continue to have wide support within the party.
