Because she could not persuade enough parliamentarians, Penny Mordaunt was unable to win the race for Conservative Party leader. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Sunak declared that uniting his party and the UK would be his “utmost goal.”
The 42-year-old Mr. Sunak will be the youngest and first British Asian prime minister in over 200 years. After being formally nominated by the King, Mr. Sunak, a practising Hindu, is expected to work later this morning. Liz Truss, the previous premier who resigned last week after just 45 days of turbulent rule, is succeeded by him.
The departing prime minister will speak outside No. 10 after presiding over her final cabinet meeting at 9:00 BST before making her way to Buckingham Palace for her final visit with the King.
After that, Mr. Sunak will have his first meeting with the king, at which it will give him the opportunity to establish a government. At approximately 11:35, he will then proceed to Downing Street to deliver a statement before entering No 10.
Since the party won the most recent general election in 2019, Mr. Sunak will be the third prime minister to head the Conservatives, leading Labour to lead calls for an early general election.
According to MP Simon Hoare, Mr. Sunak warned them in his speech on Monday, which was delivered behind closed doors, that the coming months would be difficult and ruled out calling an early general election. The former chancellor claimed the Conservative Party was under a “existential threat,” but that by coming together, it could overtake Labour in the polls and win the next election.
Amid a cost-of-living crisis, Mr. Sunak’s message to the party was “unite or die,” according to three of the MPs there, who spoke to PA Media. Later, in a less than two minute TV speech, Mr. Sunak thanked departing Prime Minister Liz Truss for governing the nation under “exceptionally difficult circumstances” and vowed to serve with “integrity.”
According to BBC report, “The United Kingdom is a great country but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge,” he said. “We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”
After a protracted period of intense political instability under Ms. Truss’s leadership, Conservative Party Chairman Jake Berry announced that it was time for the party to “rally four-square behind Rishi.”
Penny Mordaunt, Mr. Sunak’s opponent for the leadership, resigned just before it made the results public.
It is “clear that colleagues feel we need certainty now,” she remarked.
According to Ms. Mordaunt, this historic choice exemplifies once more the talent and diversity of our party.
“Rishi has my full support,”
After former Prime Minister Boris Johnson withdrew on Sunday, Ms. Mordaunt was under pressure to back Mr. Sunak as the race for the leadership came down to the wire. Despite claiming to have enough support to run, Mr. Johnson, who just recently announced his resignation as prime minister, acknowledged that now was “not the proper time.”
The BBC has learned from sources that Mr. Sunak and Mr. Johnson met on Saturday as Conservative MPs chose sides in the second leadership contest in four months. As chancellor in Mr. Johnson’s cabinet, Mr. Sunak was forced to lead the UK economy through the Covid-19 pandemic only a few weeks after assuming office.
But because of issues with the administration, he left his position as chancellor in July, which sparked a cabinet uprising that ultimately to Mr. Johnson’s removal. After being chosen as an MP for the North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond for the first time in 2015, Mr. Sunak has quickly risen to the pinnacle of British politics. Prior to entering politics, Mr. Sunak, one of the richest MPs, worked in finance.