UK's new finance minister admits 'mistakes' as Tory govt. faces collapse
Britain's new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt has warned of looming tax hikes while admitting to "mistakes" by his short-lived predecessor in a disastrous budget.
"We will have some very difficult decisions ahead," Hunt said Saturday in a televised interview with the local Sky News in his first public remarks following his appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer by Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose own future remains in doubt just weeks after taking office.
He further warned that "all government departments" face spending restraint, adding, "And some taxes will not be cut as quickly as people want. Some taxes will go up."
"There were mistakes," conceded Hunt, a former health and foreign secretary who is regarded as a centrist Tory picked by Truss to salvage her troubled government, just over a month after its establishment.
While tax cuts were the centerpiece of the budget announced by Hunt's predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng on September 23, they were financed through billions in more borrowing, sparking panic on the country’s financial markets that also led to higher costs for British households.
Kwarteng and Truss had initially intended to cut taxes for the highest earners, and had presented their budget without independent forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, Hunt noted in summarizing two key mistakes, emphasizing, "The prime minister's recognized that. That’s why I'm here."
Truss sacked Kwarteng on Friday and rowed back further on the planned tax cuts. However, she is facing threats of being ousted herself by senior Conservative parliament members appalled by the party's collapse in opinion polls since she replaced controversial premier Boris Johnson on September 6 after his involvement in a wave of political scandals.
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