As she fights to retain her premiership, Liz Truss fired Kwasi Kwarteng, her “ideological soulmate,” after only 39 days.
Only a few weeks before, the pair had been praised for having the closest relationship between a prime minister and chancellor since David Cameron and George Osborne.
After Iain Macleod, who passed away 30 days after accepting the position as Chancellor in 1970, Mr. Kwarteng is currently the Chancellor with the second-shortest tenure in modern British political history.
There were hopes that the ongoing conflicts between No. 10 and the Treasury, a recurring theme in British politics in recent years, would be resolved when Ms. Truss moved into No. 10 last month and Mr. Kwarteng moved into No. 11.
The fact that they had moved into the same lush south London borough as their neighbors in Downing Street was evidence of their strong friendship.
Earlier this year, Mr. Kwarteng relocated on the same Greenwich street as Ms. Truss.
Their relationship began in 2010 after the general election, when they both joined Parliament together for the first time.
The Allow Enterprise group of Tory MPs, which Ms Truss created in 2011, sought to “free people to create, develop, and take risks.” Mr. Kwarteng was a member of this group.
Britannia Unchained, a book co-written by Ms. Truss and Mr. Kwarteng in 2012 with Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, and Chris Skidmore, is now seen as the PM’s blueprint for her vision for her premiership.
According to the book, “the legacy of a bloated state, high taxes, and excessive regulation threatens to suck the drive out of the British economy.”
The 2016 EU vote caused a little rift in the pair’s shared political views as Mr. Kwarteng supported Brexit and Ms. Truss fervently supported Remain.
However, as Cabinet members in Boris Johnson’s Government, they quickly aligned once again.
Both disagreed with previous Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plan to raise National Insurance and impose a windfall tax on the earnings of energy companies.
Mr. Kwarteng was reportedly one of a select number of Tory MPs who discussed Ms. Truss’s leadership run following Mr. Johnson’s departure in July at the kitchen table.
One of the pair’s friends compared the “slight social misfits” and “amiable geeks” to “Batman and Robin” when Ms. Truss gained the position of leader in this summer’s Conservative race.
When Ms. Truss defeated Mr. Sunak to become prime minister on September 5, it was established that Mr. Kwarteng would serve as her chancellor if she were to assume the No. 10 position.
Ms. Truss was reportedly closely engaged in the creation of the mini-Budget that Mr. Kwarteng and his Treasury colleagues released on September 23.
Several of Ms. Truss’s leadership campaign promises were fulfilled by the package, notably the reduction of National Insurance and the cancellation of a proposed increase in company tax.
But the so-called “ideological soulmates” Mr. Kwarteng and Ms. Truss also went farther than she had suggested during the Tory leadership race.
They announced the elimination of the highest rate of income tax, a 1p reduction in the basic rate of income tax, the elimination of the ceiling on bankers’ bonuses, and a reduction in stamp duty.
Financial markets and Tory MPs were alarmed by the enormity of the tax-cutting agenda the couple had started, as well as concerns about an increase in borrowing to pay for the policies.
At this month’s Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Ms. Truss and Mr. Kwarteng made a U-turn on eliminating the 45p top rate of taxation in response to mounting criticism.
However, their efforts fell short in resolving the financial crisis or the mutinous Tory MPs, forcing the Prime Minister to fire her Chancellor as she fights to stay in No. 10.
Mr. Kwarteng acknowledged in a letter to Ms. Truss that the PM had requested him to “step aside.”
We have been friends and coworkers for a very long time, he wrote. I have seen your commitment and tenacity throughout that period.
“I think your plan is the best one.” Serving as your first Chancellor has been an honor.
However, Mr. Kwarteng, who was leaving office, steadfastly defended his pro-low-tax stance, saying that “for too long, this nation has been plagued by poor growth rates and excessive taxation—that must change if this country is to flourish.”
The PM described the person she had recently fired as a “long-standing friend and colleague” in her response to Mr. Kwarteng.
Ms. Truss responded, “I am truly sad to lose you from the Government.”
“We share the same vision for our nation and the same strong resolve to pursue progress,” the statement reads.
Thank you for serving our nation and for your enduring friendship and support, she continued.
I am certain that you will continue to have a significant impact on public life in the years to come.