Kwarteng also praised current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, whose disastrous mini-budget caused financial turmoil and led to the pound dropping to a record low, has refused to rule out a return to the cabinet.
Kwarteng became the second-shortest serving Chancellor in history after being sacked just 38 days into his post following the mini-budget which implemented unfunded tax cuts that disproportionately benefited the rich. Despite the market turmoil caused by his and Liz Truss’ mini-budget, with his credibility tarnished, Kwarteng thinks a comeback may still be possible.
Speaking to GB News, Kwarteng said: “I haven’t ruled out anything. I mean, it was a great privilege to be business secretary and then chancellor. I was removed by the prime minister, but let’s be very clear, it wasn’t a plot or anything like that.
“I think it’s the prime minister’s prerogative. And that was what she chose to do. Now looking back and I said it at the time, I thought it was bizarre because it was obvious to me that she wouldn’t last very much longer once she’d taken that move, but that was her decision.”
Kwarteng also praised current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He said: “I think the prime minister is doing a good job. He was good enough to call me the day I was sacked, which I thought was very good, you know he behaved very well. And he’s someone I’ve known and admired ever since he got into parliament.”
Reacting to the news that Kwarteng thinks he could make a comeback, LFF columnist Prem Sikka tweeted: “Kwasi Kwarteng ‘hasn’t ruled out’ return to cabinet despite crashing economy with mini-Budget.
“To do what … destroy economy, hand tax cuts to the rich, hand £bns to speculators, destroy pension schemes.
“How many time are Tories going to fool people?”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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