Kwasi Kwarteng: former Chancellor under Liz Truss announces he will stand down at next general election
Kwarteng served as Chancellor for only 38 days under Liz Truss's short-lived cabinet before stepping down over the infamous mini-budget
Tory MP and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced that he will be stepping down from parliament at the next general election.
Kwarteng, who has been MP for Spelthorne in Surrey since 2010, said that the role had been an "honour" to carry out over the past 14 years, adding: "I shall continue to do so for the remainder of my time in Parliament.”
The 48-year-old most notably joined his close party ally Liz Truss for an ill-fated and short-lived stint in Downing Street, where he served in the former Prime Minister's cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Kwarteng's time in the role lasted 38 days, only 12 days short of Truss's tiny tenure.
He was dismissed as Chancellor following the fallout of his 'mini-budget', which saw the pound fall severely in the aftermath of the announcement following dramatic tax cuts. The pound briefly fell to the lowest level ever against the US dollar as a result of Kwarteng and Truss's fiscal policy.
Prior to his time at the Treasury, Kwarteng undertook a number of junior ministerial roles, before taking up the roles as Business Secretary under Boris Johnson's premiership. Since leaving Number 11, Kwarteng has made contributions to new channel GB News, for which he has received a £1,000 fee every appearance on the channel. He has also been offered a part-time advisor role at Australian mining company Fortescue Future Industries to consult on the company's green energy business.
Kwarteng's announcement to stand down at the next election is just one in a long line of Tory veteran MPs choosing to step back. Mike Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, announced his intention to step down after receiving death threats, with former deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also among the high-profile names standing down. Other notable names include 1922 Committee Chairman Sir Graham Brady, former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and former health secretary Sajid Javid among others.