Britain’s Truss in troubled waters

Newly appointed U.K. treasury chief Jeremy Hunt said Monday that he was tossing out almost all of Prime Minister Liz Truss’ promised economic policies—including tax cuts without a corresponding drop in government spending. Truss appointed Hunt after firing his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Friday. Hunt’s announcement has restored a measure of calm to the British economy, but at the possible cost of eroding Truss’ credibility and authority as a prime minister.

What’s Truss doing now? She declined to attend the House of Commons to answer a question on the economy from the leader of the opposition, sending another Conservative Party leader in her place. Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, insisted the prime minister was not hiding under a desk. Hunt told lawmakers that Truss “backed him to the hilt in making difficult decisions”—suggesting he has a free hand to make policy. A spokesman for Truss said the two had jointly agreed on the course reversal.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Liz Truss’ decision to sack Kwarteng in favor of Hunt.