U-K Prime Minister Sacks Chancellor

Information reaching the OSUNREPORTERS NEWS has it that the UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss has sacked chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as she prepares to carry out a dramatic U-turn on his “mini” budget.

Mr Kwarteng confirmed his dismissal on Friday in a letter published to his Twitter account.

,,,,,Downing Street earlier declined to say whether the chancellor would remain in his post, refusing to comment on “speculation”.

The former chancellor arrived back in London from IMF talks in Washington on Friday morning and headed straight to Downing Street.

Ms Truss is due to hold a press conference on Friday afternoon in which she is expected to announce the U-turn on Kwarteng’s £43 billion (€49.5 billion) package of unfunded tax cuts.

Among the measures expected to be reversed is an £18 billion corporation tax cut — Mr Kwarteng had planned to cancel a proposed increase next April from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.

,,,,,Tory MPs had predicted the sacking of Mr Kwarteng, whose fiscal statement on September 23rd quickly turned into an economic and political disaster.

UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed the sack via a tweet on Friday where he displayed a letter to the Chancellor accepting her instruction to have him “stand aside”

,,,,,,,,“YOU HAVE ASKED ME TO STAND ASIDE AS YOUR CHANCELLOR. I HAVE ACCEPTED. WHEN YOU ASKED ME TO SERVE AS YOUR CHANCELLOR, I DID SO IN FULL KNOWLEDGE THAT THE SITUATION WE FACED WAS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT, WITH RISING GLOBAL INTEREST RATES AND ENERGY PRICES. HOWEVER, YOUR VISION OF OPTIMISM, GROWTH AND CHANGE WAS RIGHT.
AS I HAVE SAID MANY TIMES IN THE PAST WEEKS, FOLLOWING THE STATUS QUO WAS SIMPLY NOT AN OPTION.
FOR TOO LONG THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN DOGGED BY LOW GROWTH RATES AND HIGH TAXATION – THAT MUST STILL CHANGE IF THIS COUNTRY IS TO SUCCEED.
THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT HAS CHANGED RAPIDLY SINCE WE SET OUT THE GROWTH PLAN ON 23 SEPTEMBER. IN RESPONSE, TOGETHER WITH THE BANK OF ENGLAND AND EXCELLENT OFFICIALS AT THE TREASURY WE HAVE RESPONDED TO THOSE EVENTS, AND I COMMEND MY OFFICIALS FOR THEIR DEDICATION.

IT IS IMPORTANT NOW AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO EMPHASISE YOUR GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO FISCAL DISCIPLINE. THE MEDIUM-TERM FISCAL PLAN IS CRUCIAL TO THIS END, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING YOU AND MY SUCCESSOR TO ACHIEVE THAT FROM THE BACKBENCHES.

WE HAVE BEEN COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS FOR MANY YEARS. IN THAT TIME. I HAVE SEEN YOUR DEDICATION AND DETERMINATION. I BELIEVE YOUR VISION IS THE RIGHT ONE. IT HAS BEEN AN HONOUR TO SERVE AS YOUR FIRST CHANCELLOR.
YOUR SUCCESS IS THIS COUNTRY’S SUCCESS AND I WISH YOU WELL.”