Rishi Sunak has been named because the U.K.’s latest prime minister, after beating competitor Penny Mordaunt within the country’s fast-tracked leadership race.
Hollie Adams | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON — Rishi Sunak might be named the U.K.’s latest prime minister, following a fast-tracked Conservative Party leadership race initiated to fill the void left by Liz Truss’ resignation.
Sunak — who might be the country’s first prime minister of color — won the role of Conservative Party leader after his sole competitor, Penny Mordaunt, dropped out of the race moments before votes from members of Parliament (MPs) were as a result of be announced Monday afternoon.
It follows the withdrawal of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson from the leadership race Sunday.
Sunak doesn’t routinely turn out to be prime minister on Monday, as ritual dictates that the outgoing prime minister, on this case Truss, first has to tender their resignation to King Charles. The king will then appoint Sunak in the approaching days.
The 42-year-old takes over just seven weeks after placing second to Truss, who stepped down Thursday, bringing to a swift close her 44 days in office — the shortest tenure of any U.K. prime minister.
A gradual pair of fiscal hands
The previous finance minister steps into the role because the country grapples with a worsening economic picture following the chaotic fallout from Truss’ September mini-budget.
Stock markets were roiled, sterling plunged and the Bank of England was forced to intervene with an emergency bond-buying operation after Truss and then-Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced a raft of unfunded tax cuts seen to disproportionately profit the rich, at the same time as the country faces a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Sunak, who’s credited with steering the U.K. economy through the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, is broadly seen as a secure pair of fiscal hands. Indeed, after being berated by Truss through the race as a voice of Treasury orthodoxy, his critique of the PM’s “unfunded tax cuts” appears to have been vindicated.
Sterling rose to $1.1326 against the dollar shortly after the announcement of Sunak’s win.
A uniting force?
As prime minister, Sunak is anticipated to maintain in place the U.K.’s newly installed Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, signaling some continuity following a turbulent few months for the U.K. government.
Nevertheless, some have questioned his ability to reunite the splintered Conservative Party, with many MPs considering him culpable for the downfall of Boris Johnson, who was ousted from office in scandal three months ago.
Meantime, Sunak — an Oxford educated former investment banker — has been criticized as unrelatable, particularly following controversy over his wife’s tax status, with some questioning his ability to guide the country through its cost-of-living crisis.
