Kwasi Kwarteng, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced his decision to step down as a Member of Parliament for Spelthorne at the upcoming
general election.
In a statement, Mr. Kwarteng expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the residents of Spelthorne since 2010. Notably, he made history in 2021 as the UK's first black Conservative cabinet minister.
However, his tenure as Chancellor was short-lived, lasting only 38 days. Following the introduction of a mini-budget that led to financial instability and discontent among Tory MPs, Mr. Kwarteng was dismissed from his position in October 2022.
The mini-budget, featuring £45 billion in tax cuts, triggered market turmoil, a decline in the pound's value, and increased costs for UK government borrowing and mortgage rates.
In a letter to former Prime Minister Liz Truss, Mr. Kwarteng highlighted the necessity of deviating from the status quo in economic policy.
Regarding his decision not to seek re-election, Mr. Kwarteng emphasized his continued dedication to serving the constituents of Spelthorne until the end of his parliamentary term.
Mr. Kwarteng joins a growing list of MPs departing from Parliament, with over 80 announcing their intention to leave at the next election, including more than 50 Conservatives.
Despite his short tenure as Chancellor, Mr. Kwarteng's legacy includes being the second-shortest-serving chancellor in history, following Iain Macleod, who passed away a month after assuming office in 1970.
Before his stint at the Treasury, Mr. Kwarteng held various junior ministerial positions before serving as Business Secretary under Boris Johnson in 2021.
Mr. Kwarteng's decision to step down makes him the latest Surrey MP to announce his departure, joining others such as Sir Paul Beresford, Crispin Blunt, Chris Grayling, and Dominic Raab.
With boundary changes in effect, Surrey will have 12 MPs in the next election, up from the current 11. In the last election, Mr. Kwarteng secured a majority of 18,393 votes in Spelthorne, a traditionally safe Conservative seat that has only once returned a Labour MP in over a century. Photo by UK Government, Wikimedia commons.