Zahawi faces shortest chancellorship since 1970 – and may be glad of it

The ex-vaccines minister appears to be the equivalent of a caretaker football manager, with Kwarteng waiting in the wings

Gordon Brown used to joke that there were two sorts of chancellors: the ones who failed and the ones who got out in time. Nadhim Zahawi looks like being in the second category.

Appointed by Boris Johnson on 5 July as he struggled in vain to remain prime minister, Zahawi is likely to be the shortest-serving chancellor since Iain Macleod died in office in 1970. Macleod was in charge of the Treasury for a month; Zahawi's tenure will probably last only twice as long.