Nadhim Zahawi promises to tackle inflation and deliver tax cuts for UK

Iraq-born MP was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer after resignation of Rishi Sunak

Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, replacing Rishi Sunak. AFP

Mr Zahawi, 55, inherits an economy that is heading for a sharp slowdown or even a recession, and will face immediate pressure to do more to help struggling taxpayers. PA

Mr Zahawi was previously education secretary and was replaced by Michelle Donelan. PA

Mr Zahawi with Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa during a visit to Imperial College London in June. PA

Mr Zahawi answers questions from pupils during a visit to Manor Park Primary School in Sutton in May. PA

Mr Zahawi makes a statement in the House of Commons in March. PA

Mr Zahawi attends the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. Getty Images

Mr Zahawi holds a media briefing on the coronavirus pandemic at Downing Street in June 2021. Mr Zahawi was appointed minister in charge of the Covid-19 vaccine rollouts in 2020. Getty Images

Conservative London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey and Mr Zahawi on the final day of local election campaigning in May 2021. Getty Images

Mr Zahawi visits the Cullimore independent community chemist in Edgware in January last year after it became the first pharmacy in London to offer the Covid-19 vaccination. Getty Images

Mr Zahawi stands next to Carrie Symonds at the 2019 Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Getty Images

Former prime minister David Cameron and Mr Zahawi at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham in 2010. Getty Images

The UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, promised to deliver tax cuts and tackle rising inflation as he gets to grips with his new role in control of the nation's economy.

Mr Zahawi, who was appointed by Boris Johnson after Rishi Sunak resigned on Tuesday evening, said in his first interview: “You don’t go into this job for an easy life.”

Mr Johnson is grappling with his own MPs to remain as prime minister, and turned to Iraq-born Mr Zahawi to shore up his Cabinet.

There had been suggestions Mr Zahawi had also threatened to resign if he did not get the key job, but he denied this on Sky News. When asked if he would stand for leader if the job became available, he sidestepped the question, saying there was no vacancy.

“I didn’t threaten to resign,” he insisted. “This is a team game. You play for the team and deliver for the nation.”. He pointed to his success as vaccines minister and progress running education.

He defended Mr Johnson’s integrity, saying he was right to apologise for appointing Chris Pincher, the MP accused of sexual assault who has brought the latest sleaze scandal to Downing Street.

“We make decisions at warp speed and don’t get them all right,” said Mr Zahawi.

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He said that he would explore all the evidence to help get the economy back on track after “the equivalent” of a world war owing to the coronavirus pandemic, but his priority would be to bring down inflation that is running at 9.1 per cent and expected to hit double digits by the end of the year. He also said tax cuts would be on the table for families struggling to pay their bills in the current cost-of-living crisis.

The biggest tax cut in a decade comes into force today, £330 for 30 million people owing to a change in National Insurance adopted by his predecessor.

However, he did not offer much hope for hard-pressed workers hoping for significant pay rises, saying the government must be careful about public sector pay “so inflation is not fuelled, causing even deeper problems”.

He said he would stick by his pledge to teachers to give a 9 per cent rise to new starters.

From refugee to the UK government

Born in Iraq to a Kurdish family, Mr Zahawi arrived in the UK at the age of 9, when his parents fled the regime of Saddam Hussein.

He has described the difficulty he had adapting as he grew up in London, especially his struggles with the English language and bullies at school.

The young Nadhim spent much of his time playing football, studying maths and science, and horse riding.

It was not until he began studying chemical engineering at University College London that he developed an interest in politics and became actively involved with the Conservative Party.

“They just looked reasonable and actually they were very pleasant and talked about things like opportunity and freedom — stuff that resonated with me,” he says of his fellow conservative students.

“I just thought, ‘those are my values’.”

He has often said his own past deeply influenced his view of Britain and he recently spoke of the debt he owed poet Philip Larkin as he improved his English as a teenager.

After working in junior ministerial roles in the education and business departments, Mr Zahawi was appointed minister in charge of the Covid-19 vaccine campaign in 2020.

In 2021, Mr Johnson promoted him to the Cabinet to run education policy.