Britain’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, says Prime Minister Truss has listened to the criticism and learned from it. New elections in the UK, as the opposition wants, are therefore not on the agenda, Hunt said in a radio interview with the BBC.

Truss yesterday sacked Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with Hunt to quell the political and financial crisis surrounding her economic plans.

Her brief statement after Kwarteng’s departure also drew negative reactions from her own conservative party. She avoided questions from journalists and could not explain why Kwarteng had to leave the field and she stayed while they shared responsibility for the financial plans.

Criticism of Kwarteng

In his interview with the BBC, Hunt mainly criticized his predecessor Kwarteng. “He made two mistakes,” he said. According to Hunt, it is wrong to abolish the top tax rate for high earners and it is wrong not to have the new budget plans approved by an independent body.

Truss and Kwarteng have come under fire in recent weeks for wanting to increase spending while cutting taxes. The result would be a budget hole, so the government planned to incur tens of billions of dollars in debt.

Difficult decisions

The intention led, among other things, to criticism from the International Monetary Fund and an unprecedented devaluation of the British pound. To turn the tide, Truss had already eased some budget cuts, but that wasn’t enough to restore confidence in the government.

Hunt told the BBC there were “difficult decisions” to be made, but he didn’t have any specific details yet. “Taxes aren’t going down as fast as people had hoped, and some taxes are going up.”

He indicated that funding government health care and all kinds of public services does not come with low taxes. Hunt wanted to “say it in all honesty,” he said. All ministries, including the Ministry of Health, should check where they can still save. The consequences of such a move could be devastating for healthcare; The workload is high and staff really need to be increased.

“Irreparable Mess”

The leader of the opposition Labor Party, Keir Starmer, is again pushing for new elections today. “Truss is trying to stay in power, but even she knows she’s created a mess she can’t clean up on her own.”

If there were an election now Labor would win a major victory and the Conservative Party would be wiped out, polls show. Starmer believes it’s time voters “punished the Conservatives’ ridiculous excuses”.

It doesn’t look like he’s going to prevail. In the UK, general elections will be held no later than January 2025. If Truss retains the confidence of a majority of the House of Commons, she can remain seated for the time being.