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At 42, he would also be the youngest person to take the office in over 200 years

Britain's former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who has emerged as the front-runner to be the country's next prime minister, leaves his home in London, Monday, October 24, 2022.

See the moment Tory Party announced Sunak to be next British PM

01:38 – Source: CNN

  • Former finance minister Rishi Sunak will be the United Kingdom’s next prime minister after seeing off his lone remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, on Monday.
  • Sunak, 42, will become the first person of color to lead the UK, and the youngest to do so in more than 200 years.
  • The contest was staged after Liz Truss quit as prime minister, becoming Britain’s shortest-serving leader ever following a disastrous term. 
Rishi Sunak, center, waves after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest at the Conservative party Headquarters in London today.

Rishi Sunak, center, waves after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest at the Conservative party Headquarters in London today.

Aberto Pezzali/AP

Rishi Sunak has given his first speech as Conservative Party leader, telling the party he is “humbled and honored” to win their support.

“I’d like to pay tribute to Liz Truss for her dedicated public service to the country,” he said of the outgoing leader. “She has led with dignity and grace through a time of great change.”

“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love, and to be able to give back to the country i owe so much to,” Sunak said.

“The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge,” he added. “We need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”

“I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility … I will work day in, day out to deliver for the British people,” he concluded at the end of a very brief speech.

Rishi Sunak leaving his campaign office in London earlier today.

Rishi Sunak leaving his campaign office in London earlier today.

Aberto Pezzali/AP

Rishi Sunak was the only person formally nominated to become the Conservative leader, meaning the planned week-long contest no longer needed to continue.

Instead, Sunak will spend Monday preparing to take over at Downing Street.

That will happen after outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss visits King Charles III to formally resign.

Charles will accept her resignation, and then welcome Sunak for a meeting and ask him to form a government.

We don’t yet know whether those meetings will take place on Monday or on Tuesday.

Britain’s King Charles III will be heading back to London from the private royal estate of Sandringham Monday afternoon, as had always been his plan, CNN understands. But each side may need an extra day until they’re ready to go ahead with the handover of power.

Britain’s King Charles III will be heading back to London from the private royal estate of Sandringham Monday afternoon, as had always been his plan, CNN understands.

CNN also understands that there has been no alteration to his schedule in light of this weekend’s events or today’s announcement. 

It is not clear whether the King will host audiences at Buckingham Palace on Monday to accept the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss and appoint her successor Rishi Sunak, or whether that will happen later in the week.

Here’s a tweet that Liz Truss didn’t think she’d have to write seven weeks ago.

Truss, the outgoing and shortest-serving British prime minister, has congratulated Rishi Sunak on winning the race to replace her, less than two months after she defeated him in the year’s first Conservative leadership contest.

In a short and muted statement, Truss said Sunak has her “full support.”

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s third prime minister in seven weeks, will face the huge challenge of projecting stability after a period of historic political and financial market chaos. But his other task — shepherding the country through a recession — is poised to be just as daunting.

The pound rose against the US dollar as Sunak’s path to power cleared with the withdrawal of rival Boris Johnson earlier Monday, but was last down 0.2% to below $1.128. Yields on benchmark 10-year UK bonds, which move opposite prices, fell to 3.82%.

Sunak campaigned for the job over the summer with promises to help households tackle the rising cost of living, which is causing many to pull back spending. He said he would cut taxes, but only once price pressures eased.

Yet the economic outlook has deteriorated sharply since then — not least because of the market turmoil unleashed by Truss’ now-abandoned plan to slash taxes as soon as possible and boost government borrowing.

A closely watched gauge of economic activity dropped to a 21-month low in October. S&P Global, which tracks the data, said it effectively confirms the United Kingdom is in a recession.

“The heightened political and economic uncertainty has caused business activity to fall at a rate not seen since the global financial crisis in 2009, if pandemic lockdown months are excluded,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

As Truss’ disastrous tax cut plan proved, any economic stimulus beyond immediate support for energy bills could prove to be a nonstarter for Sunak.

“A key focus for the next Prime Minister and their chosen Chancellor needs to be fiscal responsibility,” Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said in a statement. “We need a credible plan to ensure that government debt can be expected to fall over the medium-term.”

Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at his office in Millbank, in London on Monday.

Britain’s former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at his office in Millbank, in London on Monday.

Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Rishi Sunak is set to become the UK’s latest Prime Minister this week, replacing the country’s shortest-serving leader of all-time, Liz Truss.

He will become the third person to lead the country in seven weeks, and the fifth since 2016.

It means yet more turnover at the heart of government – Boris Johnson and Truss both frantically reshuffled their Cabinets as they fought to save their jobs, and Sunak will be expected to bring in his own team this week.

But Sunak will face immediate calls for a general election from opposition parties, who will demand he seeks his own mandate in order to govern with any authority.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, announces in the Houses of Parliament that Rishi Sunak is to become the new leader of the Conservative Party.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, announces in the Houses of Parliament that Rishi Sunak is to become the new leader of the Conservative Party.

PA Images/Reuters

Rishi Sunak seen in this August 2022 file photo.

Rishi Sunak seen in this August 2022 file photo.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/File

Rishi Sunak will become the first Hindu and the first person of color to become Britain’s Prime Minister.

At the age of 42, he is also the youngest person to take the office in more than 200 years.

The result of Monday’s contest caps a spectacularly rapid rise to the pinnacle of British politics.

Sunak was first elected as an MP in 2015 and spent two years on the backbenches, during which Brexit dominated the political agenda. Sunak supported leaving the EU during the 2016 referendum.

He subsequently became a junior minister in Theresa May’s government. It was Boris Johnson who gave Sunak his first major government role when he first appointed him as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019, and as the Chancellor in 2020.

Sunak won popularity during the early weeks of the pandemic when he unveiled an extensive support plan for those unable to work during lockdown.

But the “Partygate” scandal that took down Boris Johnson also tarnished his reputation, and he became archrivals with Johnson after quitting his government earlier this year.

Sunak has remained tight-lipped on his policy plan in the last few days, but he was widely seen as the more moderate of the two candidates in the last leadership contest over the summer. Compared to Liz Truss, he took a softer line on matters like Brexit and the economy.

Sunak will speak to Conservative MPs at 2:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. ET).

Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s Prime Minister after Penny Mordaunt said in a statement that “we all owe it to the country” to get behind him.

Mordaunt had been scrambling to get enough support from MPs to make the final ballot in the leadership race, while Sunak passed the threshold comfortably.

“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support,” Mordaunt tweeted.

Rishi Sunak leaves his home on Monday in London.

Rishi Sunak leaves his home on Monday in London.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Former finance minister Rishi Sunak will be the United Kingdom’s next prime minister after seeing off his lone remaining rival in the race.

Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at his office in Millbank, in London Monday.

Britain’s former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at his office in Millbank, in London Monday.

Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Rishi Sunak has received the backing of more than half of Conservative lawmakers in the race to become the next party leader and prime minister, PA Media reported Monday.

The former Chancellor has received a flurry of public endorsements from high-profile Conservative Party lawmakers in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister.

His sole rival, Penny Mordaunt, must also secure the backing of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 2 p.m. (9 a.m. ET) to be placed on the ballot.

If both candidates cross the threshold, there will be an indicative vote by MPs and then, later this week, Tory members will have their say.

Mourdant has failed to seize much momentum in the contest and could be pressured to pull out, either before the MPs vote or after, if she is unable to find some today.

CNN’s Rob Picheta contributed reporting.

Duncan Smith seen in this October 4, 2022 file photo.

Duncan Smith seen in this October 4, 2022 file photo.

Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith has publicly announced his support for Rishi Sunak to become the next UK prime minister. 

“It is time for us to end the leadership contest and get a PM in place ASAP,” he tweeted Monday.

“I have reached the decision that senior experience at the heart of government matters most. To that end I shall support @RishiSunak,” he said. 

He previously criticized the “back-biting” of the Tory leadership race in a tweet. 

“We argue about who we are against and not what we are for,” he tweeted on Sunday. 

Duncan Smith is the latest high-profile Conservative lawmaker to endorse Sunak ahead of sole rival Penny Mordaunt in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister.

Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons, in London, Sunday.

Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons, in London, Sunday.

Hollie Adams/Getty Images

Penny Mordaunt’s greatest strength and biggest weakness are one and the same: No one really knows who she is.

As the sole rival to Rishi Sunak in the final stages of the race to succeed Liz Truss as British prime minister, that’s about to change.

Being a relatively unknown lawmaker in Britain’s ruling Conservative Party has its advantages. Whereas other members of parliament have struggled to distance themselves from the failure of previous governments, Mordaunt has been able to paint herself as something of an outsider.

But the truth is that Mordaunt, an MP since 2010, held a number of ministerial positions before being elevated to defense secretary in the last, painful few months of Theresa May’s government.

Running on the slogan PM4PM during the Conservative leadership campaign this summer, Mordaunt promised a return to traditional Tory values: Low taxes, a small state, individual responsibility. 

It nearly proved a winning ticket. She secured 105 votes from MPs – only eight fewer than Liz Truss, who went on to win – but this wasn’t enough for her to be put before the party members in the final vote.

If Mordaunt had made it to that stage, she might have been expected to perform well. A darling of the Tory grassroots, her military background – she is a Royal Navy reservist – and references to Margaret Thatcher have played well among party members.

In her previous campaign video, Mordaunt recalled watching a naval task force sail from her home town of Portsmouth, where she is now the MP, to the Falklands – the South Atlantic islands that Thatcher went to war with Argentina to reclaim. “It taught me that my country stands up to bullies,” she said.

Mordaunt has been criticized in the past for her ideological flexibility. At the recent Conservative Party conference, she called Truss’ policies “great.” Given the implosion of “Trussonomics,” she will probably have to revise her position on that.

She also revised her thoughts on another contentious issue. When she was minister for women and equalities, Mordaunt took a pro-transgender stance, asserting that “trans men are men, trans women are women.”

But, under pressure from the more socially conservative members of her party, she abandoned this stance during the last leadership election, saying a trans woman could not be considered a “biological woman” like herself.

These vacillations have led some to question whether Mordaunt has an underlying political philosophy – or whether she is merely a savvy politician with her eyes on Number 10.

Rishi Sunak leaves his campaign office in London on Monday.

Rishi Sunak leaves his campaign office in London on Monday.

Aberto Pezzali/AP

Just seven short weeks ago, it looked as if it might be all over for Rishi Sunak.

The former chancellor made a high-stakes gamble and lost. He launched an attack that helped to end Boris Johnson’s premiership, put himself forward as his replacement, but ultimately came second to Liz Truss. Admitting defeat, he retreated to the parliamentary backbenches.

But in a sign of just how unpredictable British politics has become, Sunak is now leading the race to replace Truss, who resigned last week.

He would become the first person of color to lead the UK – and at the age of 42, also the youngest person to take the office in more than 200 years.

Sunak, whose parents came to the UK from East Africa in the 1960s, is of Indian descent. His father was a local doctor while his mother ran a pharmacy in southern England, something Sunak says gave him his desire to serve the public.

He has experience of economic crisis-fighting, having guided the UK through the Covid-19 pandemic, and positioned himself as the “sound finance” candidate.

But Sunak has faced criticism for being an elitist, having studied at the exclusive Winchester College, Oxford and Stanford universities. He is known for his expensive taste in fashion and has worked for banks and hedge funds, including Goldman Sachs.

Sunak has also been scrutinized over the tax arrangements of his wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire.

Earlier this year, Sunak and Murty appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List of the UK’s 250 wealthiest people. The newspaper estimated their joint net worth at £730 million ($826 million).

The right-wing European Research Group (ERG) bloc of the Conservative Party has declined to endorse either candidate in the race for the leadership, a setback for Penny Mordaunt who is scrambling for support among lawmakers.

ERG leaders told reporters at Parliament that they couldn’t agree on a candidate to back.

That is more consequential for Mordaunt than it is for Rishi Sunak, who already has the backing of vast swathes of the parliamentary party.

The ERG is a Eurosceptic bloc within the Conservative Party which has held political sway in recent years, given the prominence of delivering Brexit in the Conservative Party’s agenda.

Priti Patel speaks on the third day of the Conservative Party conference on October 4 in Birmingham, England.

Priti Patel speaks on the third day of the Conservative Party conference on October 4 in Birmingham, England.

Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has backed Rishi Sunak in the race to become Prime Minister, switching her support from Boris Johnson after the former leader pulled out.

“In these difficult times for our country we must unite by putting public service first and work together. We care about our country and with the enormous challenges upon us we must put political differences aside to give @RishiSunak the best chance of succeeding,” Patel tweeted.

It’s a significant endorsement that shows Sunak is pulling Johnson supporters into his camp as he looks set to clinch the contest – and a big letdown for Penny Mordaunt, who will have hoped to seize some high-profile Johnson backers on Monday.

Michael Gove, another ex-Cabinet member who backed Sunak during the summer contest, also tweeted in support of Sunak on Monday morning.

Boris Johnson delivers his final speech as British Prime Minister outside 10 Downing Street, London, UK on September 6.

Boris Johnson delivers his final speech as British Prime Minister outside 10 Downing Street, London, UK on September 6.

AP

Allies of Boris Johnson, who resigned in disgrace after months of scandal wrecked his reputation, started clamoring for his return in the wake of Liz Truss’s resignation last week, and the ex-PM flew back from a Caribbean holiday to court favor among his colleagues.

But that effort backfired. Johnson backed out of the contest on Sunday evening, after a weekend of reported meetings with the other contestants.

In a characteristically hubristic statement, Johnson claimed he had enough support to run and insisted there was “a very good chance” he would win the competition. But he said he had concluded that running “would simply not be the right thing to do,” because he wouldn’t be able to govern effectively without the support of a majority of MPs.

Whether those claims are accurate is unclear. Johnson’s earlier claim that he had 100 MPs behind him was met with skepticism from Sunak’s supporters, given Johnson’s historically economical relationship with the truth and the fact that only around half that number had publicly backed him.

Either way, it marks a major victory for Sunak. The pair worked together as prime minister and chancellor throughout the pandemic, but became political arch-rivals after Sunak quit Johnson’s government, sparking its downfall. The split within the party between allies of Johnson and Sunak has yet to be mended, leaving the Tories deeply divided as they prepare to welcome a new leader.

While Johnson has some ardent supporters in the party — many of whom believe he is the best electoral campaigner the Conservatives have — his return would likely have brought more chaos to government. Johnson is under investigation by a parliamentary committee over whether he misled Parliament about pandemic-era parties, and he faces being suspended from the Commons if found guilty.

Still, it seems unlikely that Johnson’s anticlimactic withdrawal will mark his final departure from British politics. His statement bore flashes of bitterness at Sunak and Penny Mourdant for failing to “come together in the national interest” — perhaps a coded admission that neither was willing to stand aside for Johnson or offer him a way back into government.

If Sunak becomes leader, he must therefore accept that Boris Johnson’s shadow looms large over his party. By choosing a third different leader since the last general election, the opposition Labour Party will demand that Sunak — or Mourdant — seek a new mandate by calling a fresh national vote. That argument has been boosted by many of Johnson’s supporters, who spent the weekend telling reporters he was the only leadership hopeful with a public mandate. 

Rishi Sunak (L) and Penny Mourdant.

Rishi Sunak (L) and Penny Mourdant.

Getty Images/AP

A new British Prime Minister could be announced at 2 p.m. (9 a.m. ET).

That will be the case if only Rishi Sunak is able to secure the support of 100 MPs in the Conservative Party, leaving him unopposed in the contest.

If Penny Mourdant joins him on the ballot, there will be an indicative vote among lawmakers later on Monday and the process would then move to party members.

But the party is keen to avoid another divisive contest, so if Mordaunt trails Sunak by some distance among MPs, she could be expected to stand down and clear the runway for Sunak.

It means that news of Britain’s new leader could be announced at any time today, or later in the week.

Liz Truss delivers her resignation statement outside 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on October 20.

Liz Truss delivers her resignation statement outside 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on October 20.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

It feels like just last month that a new prime minister was thrust upon British citizens, promising to bring their party and the country together following the humiliating resignation of their predecessor. 

And, in fact, it was. Liz Truss was chosen as the Conservative Party leader — and therefore the new occupant of 10 Downing Street — on September 6, after Boris Johnson was forced to call time on his scandal-plagued premiership. But Truss’s catastrophic tenure ended in just six weeks, and the wounded Conservatives are searching once again for a new leader while an unimpressed nation watches on.

Rishi Sunak is the frontrunner to become the UK’s third prime minister of the fall, and its fifth in six years. He came second to Truss during the previous contest, but his repeated warnings about her economic plan were proven accurate in record time and he has collected a healthy number of backers within the party.

A fast-tracked process could see a winner crowned on Monday. Entrants must secure the backing of 100 Conservative MPs to be placed on the ballot, a hurdle that Sunak has easily passed already. If two people cross the threshold, there will be an indicative vote by MPs and then, later this week, Tory members will have their say.

Sunak’s only competition is Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt, who came third during the summer. But Mourdant has failed to seize much momentum in the contest and could be pressured to pull out, either before the MPs vote or after, if she is unable to find some today.

In a whirlwind few days of political maneuvering, Sunak has already seen off the competition of his political rival Boris Johnson, who had been attempting to stage a remarkable political comeback mere weeks after his resignation. After days of speculation Johnson pulled out of the race on Sunday, insisting he had enough MPs behind him to proceed but saying he did not wish to lead a divided party.

That task will instead fall to whoever wins this week. But the next prime minister must also take control a country mired in economic gloom, and resist growing calls to seek a fresh mandate by calling a general election.

Truss’s fiscal agenda spooked markets and damaged the value of the pound, while a cost-of-living crisis has left widened inequality and left families unable to make ends meet. It’s fair to say that the unending drama at the top of the Conservative Party has left voters wary and threatened Britain’s reputation around the world.

The country’s next leader will promise to end that chaos — but it won’t be easy.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/uk/live-news/uk-prime-minister-announcement-monday-gbr-intl/index.html