Kwasi Kwarteng: Only A Desperate Prime Minister Sacks A Chancellor

Chancellor is the most visible job in the British government after the PM, so it can send the wrong signals to the markets Despina Alexiadou Having seen her government’s popularity plummet just weeks after taking office, British prime minister Liz Truss has sacked her chancellor of the exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng in a bid to save herself. Kwarteng, widely seen as Truss’s right-hand man, was rushed back to London from New York for the occasion, where he had been meeting with IMF officials on Thursday evening. But rather than drawing a line under recent chaos, many members of the Conservative party appear to feel that Truss has only accelerated her demise. Rather than showing strength of purpose, they fear, the decision exposes a lack of control and competence. It is, indeed, very unusual to sack a chancellor. Other ministers come and go but finance ministers tend to be politically experienced heavyweights. It is usually very difficult for a PM to dispose of them. Analysing my data on cabinet ministers, I find that, on average, British finance ministers have at least five years of experience in the cabinet prior to their appointment to the job.