Rishi Sunak to be appointed PM prior to cabinet formation

Rishi Sunak will enter No 10 on Tuesday. (Photo: Victoria Jones/PA)

King Charles III will appoint Rishi Sunak as the next prime minister, and he will seek to form a new cabinet that could unite the Tory party.

He will replace Liz Truss in No. 10 on Tuesday after rivals Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson withdrew from the Tory leadership race without a vote being cast.

Ms. Truss, who resigned last week after serving as prime minister for only six weeks, will hold her final cabinet meeting and deliver a farewell speech in Downing Street before formally submitting her resignation to King Charles at Buckingham Palace.

After her departure, Mr. Sunak will meet with King Charles, who will ask him to form an administration.


Mr. Sunak is expected to address the nation just before noon, before entering No. 10 as the United Kingdom's first Hindu prime minister, the first of Asian descent, and the youngest in more than two centuries, at age 42.

The former chancellor will then focus on assembling a formidable team that he hopes will restore stability to both the Conservatives and the nation.

James Cleverly has urged him to avoid Ms. Truss's perceived error of appointing loyalists to key positions, arguing that the reformed Cabinet should feature the best ministers.

The Foreign Secretary stated to Sky News, "We must have the first 15 players on the field." I am certain that Rishi comprehends that."


According to reports, Mr. Sunak will seek to assemble a cabinet of "all the talents" that will see the political return of "adults."

Longtime supporters Dominic Raab, the former justice secretary, Commons Treasury Committee chair Mel Stride, and ex-chief whip Mark Harper were rumored to be included in the team, although his team remained tight-lipped about its possible composition.

It is widely anticipated that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who was brought in to stabilize Ms. Truss's faltering government and has been preparing a highly-anticipated fiscal statement for Halloween, will retain the keys to No. 11 to calm the jittery markets.

Ms. Mordaunt, who withdrew from the race to give Mr. Sunak a spectacular political comeback after failing to receive 100 nominations from Tory MPs, is expected to receive a promotion, with some speculating that she could replace Mr. Cleverly as foreign secretary.

Mr. Sunak ruled out an early general election, as demanded by opposition parties, as the Conservatives prepare to appoint their third prime minister since Mr. Johnson's 2019 election.

Mr. Harper stated on BBC Two's Newsnight, "He is entitled to be prime minister on the basis that he has majority support in the House of Commons. He will govern and implement the 2019 manifesto."

He conceded, "Of course, you have to respond to the challenges you face," when it was suggested that Mr. Sunak's reference to the "profound economic challenge" and Mr. Hunt's warning of "eye-wateringly difficult" decisions on tax and spending signaled a departure from Mr. Johnson's promise to end austerity in 2019.

"You must obviously evolve, but the foundation of our program is the commitments we made in 2019," Mr. Harper stated.

He also stated that Ms. Truss' six-week premiership made Mr. Sunak's job "more difficult" due to the "reaction of the markets."

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, reiterated Labour's call for a general election, stating that "the public is clamoring for a voice."

He remarked, "The Conservative Party is a calcified mess. Who's to say Rishi Sunak won't be gone in six months? You can hear the knives sharpening in Westminster from disgruntled Borisites who believe Rishi stabbed Boris Johnson in the back.

Mr. Sunak, whose resignation from Mr. Johnson's government in July precipitated a mass exodus that led to the then-prime minister's downfall, hit the ground running on Monday by telling Conservative MPs in the House of Commons that they face an "existential moment."

Three members of parliament in the room stated that his message to the party was "unite or die" as they focused on delivering on the public's priorities during a crisis in the cost of living.

Mr. Sunak is now tasked with guiding the nation through an economic crisis exacerbated by Ms. Truss's chaotic legacy.

A wave of industrial unrest, a faltering healthcare system, and the possibility of a nuclear escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin are just a few of the obstacles he faces.

Mr. Sunak's ascent from MP to PM is the quickest in modern political history, having first won the North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond in 2015.

However, his path to the top position has not been smooth, as he was fined alongside Mr. Johnson for violating coronavirus rules and faced questions regarding his wife Akshata Murty's "non-dom" tax status.

Publish : 2022-10-25 12:28:00

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