Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s Restorer of Order

After then-Prime Minister Liz Truss roiled markets with the biggest package of unfunded tax cuts in a half-century, the pound fell to a record low against the dollar and borrowing costs rose alarmingly. Jeremy Hunt, one of the Conservative Party’s most experienced ministers and a former secretary of state for health and social care, was brought in from Parliament’s backbenches to repair the damage and restore the country’s economic credibility. He junked Truss’s plans and pivoted to a disciplined message of economic caution, saying that spending cuts and tax increases would be needed to stabilize the UK’s finances. He also reviewed the generosity of the government program helping Britons with soaring energy bills. When Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss, he kept Hunt in the post as a reward for his calming influence.