Who Is Jeremy Hunt, UK's New Finance Minister?

Jeremy Hunt has been appointed UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer by Liz Truss.

During the Tory party's September 2022 leadership race, Jeremy Hunt backed Rishi Sunak after his own leadership bid failed as he was eliminated in round one.

Rishi Sunak won the support of most MPs but Liz Truss received the support of Tory party members, as per multiple reports.

Like most senior British politicians, Hunt studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Magdalen College, according to information posted by the government of UK.

He is the member of parliament from South West Surrey. Hunt has won from this constituency since 2005. Before Jeremy Hunt, Kwasi Kwarteng was serving as UK's chancellor, until he was sacked by Liz Truss on October 14. 

During the 2019 Tory party leadership contest, Jeremy Hunt, along with Boris Johnson, reached the final stage.

In the final stage, Boris Johnson reportedly won the support of 66.4% party members and Jeremy Hunt won the support of 33.6% party members. He served as UK's foreign minister from July 2018, after Boris Johnson resigned.

When Boris Johnson was elected as the prime minister, Hunt resigned from his post and declined an invitation to serve as Secretary of State for Defence. 

The UK's Chancellor to the Exchequer is responsible for the UK's fiscal policy (including the presenting of the annual Budget), monetary policy, setting inflation targets, ministerial arrangements (in his role as Second Lord of the Treasury) and the overall responsibility of guiding the UK's economy.

Jeremy Hunt's longest ministerial job was Minister of Health/Secretary of State for health. He served in this ministerial role from 2012 to 2018, spanning the tenure of two prime ministers (David Cameron and Theresa May).

His tenure, according to reports from the Telegraph, witnessed the introduction of controversial new contracts for junior doctors.

The new contract was opposed by doctors and led to multiple strikes, which was the first such industrial action by doctors in 40 years.

According to an article by The Independent, Jeremy Hunt has co-authored a book calling for the NHS to be replaced with private insurance.

As per another report from The Telegraph, Jeremy Hunt, as the Health Minister of UK, said that homeopathy works and according to a report from the Guardian, asked UK's chief medical officer to review studies in favour of homeopathy.

There is concern amongst Brits right now that his appointment as the finance minister might mean cuts for the NHS. In an interview to the Sky news, Hunt has denied reports of any such cuts.