London: Britain’s newly appointed finance minister Nadhim Zahawi is the latest to join the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, the Khaleej Times reported on Saturday.
“My aim is a simple one: to provide the opportunities that were afforded to my generation, to all Britons, whoever you are and wherever you come from. To steady the ship and to stabilize the economy,” it quoted Zahawi as saying.
He earlier pledged to rebuild and grow the struggling economy and said he would look at all policy options, including possible tax cuts.
Zahawi, who took over the Treasury on Tuesday after Rishi Sunak resigned in protest against embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
But some questioned the former education minister about whether he would even have a chance to steer the economy out of its slowdown, given Johnson’s increasingly weakened position.
Britain’s economy has lost momentum as inflation heads for double-digits, and growth is forecast to be weaker than other big industrialized economies next year.
Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill said he did not expect any economic growth over the next year or so, as households faced the highest inflation in 40 years.
