How long will Jeremy Hunt remain as chancellor?

As Jeremy Hunt prepares for next month’s autumn statement, the question being asked among Tory MPs isn’t so much what will be in it (the view is the Spring Budget is the place for significant tax cuts) and instead how long Hunt will remain in post for. In the past few weeks there have been reports that Hunt could be moved in the reshuffle Sunak is planning before the end of the year.

Senior Tories are agitating for a change in No. 11. ‘Jeremy [Hunt] was more front-footed when he was health secretary,’ says a former cabinet member. ‘The election will be about the cost of living. We need a chancellor out there with enthusiasm [while being] focused on comms.’ The view is that Hunt goes against Sunak’s plans to pitch himself as change given how many Tory governments he has held senior roles in. It doesn’t help that there have also been reports (denied by his team) that Hunt is considering stepping down at the next election.