From leadership flop to chancellor: the surprising return of Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt. In his brief election bid, he proffered himself as the biggest advocate of tax cuts to get the economy moving. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

As political resurrections go, there are few more curious than the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as chancellor – a remainer whose career seemed to be going backwards only a few short weeks ago.

When the instinct of most Tory MPs is to run a mile from No 10, Hunt accepted the invitation from the desperate Liz Truss to go in the opposite direction. He has turned down unenviable cabinet job offers before – rejecting the post of defence secretary when offered by Boris Johnson, after losing the Tory leadership race to Johnson in 2019.