To replace him, she appointed Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign and health secretary who had backed her rival Rishi Sunak in this summer's race to become Conservative Party leader. He is the fourth finance minister in as many months in Britain, where millions are facing a cost of living crisis. Kwarteng becomes Britain's shortest serving finance minister except for a predecessor who died suddenly in office in 1970. Christopher Chope, a veteran Conservative lawmaker and Truss supporter, said the party was now a laughing stock. "The markets have lost trust in the Conservative Party - and who can blame them?"

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