Rishi Sunak to become next UK prime minister
British Conservative Rishi Sunak is set to become the next UK prime minister after rival Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the leadership race on Monday (Oct 24).
The 42-year-old former finance minister is Britain’s third prime minister in less than two months. He is also the country’s first leader of colour.
Just weeks after failing in a first attempt to lead the ruling Tories, Sunak replaces Liz Truss who was forced to resign after she launched an economic programme that triggered financial market turmoil.
The leadership contest required candidates to secure the support of at least 100 Conservative Members of Parliament by 2pm local time on Monday.
Sunak had crossed that threshold by Friday night, ahead of declaring his candidacy on Sunday and amassing nearly 200 public nominations from Tory lawmakers.
Boris Johnson’s withdrawal from the race – before he had even formally announced his candidacy – left cabinet member and House of Commons leader Mordaunt as the only other declared contender.
But she struggled for momentum and failed to attract backing from among her fellow MPs.
The Tories were forced into their second leadership contest since the summer due to Truss’ resignation after only 44 days following the disastrous market response to her tax-slashing mini-budget.
She had replaced Johnson in early September following another government revolt over a slew of scandals, most notably the “Partygate” controversy involving COVID-19 lockdown-breaching parties.
Sunak, a multi-millionaire former hedge fund boss, faces one of the most daunting sets of challenges – tasked with rebuilding Britain’s fiscal reputation through deep spending cuts as it slides into a recession, dragged down by surging energy, food and mortgage rates.
He will also preside over a party that has bounced from one crisis to the next in recent months, badly split along ideological lines, and a country that is growing increasingly angry at the conduct of its politicians.
— Penny Mordaunt (@PennyMordaunt) October 24, 2022