Britain’s former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed on October 23, 2022 he was standing to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister.
“The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis,” he said on Twitter.
“That’s why I am standing to be leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.”
Mr. Sunak was defeated by Ms. Truss in the race to replace Boris Johnson in September after losing an election held by members of the Conservative party across the country.
Even before declaring on October 23, 2022, Mr. Sunak had received more support from Conservative lawmakers than his rivals — former defence minister Penny Mordaunt and Johnson, who is attempting a comeback.
Mr. Sunak quit Johnson’s government in July, helping trigger a rebellion that bought him down.
“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done,” he said in a statement.
“I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems.”
In an accompanying vision statement, Mr. Sunak highlighted his track record of serving in the Cabinet, helping to steer the economy through the toughest of times with the COVID pandemic.
“The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities — if we make the right choice — are phenomenal. I have the track record of delivery, a clear plan to fix the biggest problems we face and I will deliver on the promise of the 2019 manifesto,” he tweeted.
“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done. I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems,” he added.
Suella Braverman backs Rishi Sunak as ‘unity’ candidate
Britain’s recently-resigned Home Secretary Indian-origin Suella Braverman on Sunday came out in support of Rishi Sunak to replace outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss as the candidate who can provide “unity, stability and efficiency” to the governing Conservatives.
In a boost to frontrunner Sunak and a blow to former prime minister Boris Johnson’s expected bid for Tory leadership, the former minister with significant support on the extreme right of Tory party said Johnson was no longer the best choice for the party or the country.
Her intervention comes just days after her dramatic exit from Cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code and a scathing attack on Truss’ leadership.
“We need unity, stability and efficiency. Rishi is the only candidate that fits the bill and I am proud to support him,” she writes in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“I have backed Boris from the start. From running alongside him in London in 2012, to supporting him to be our leader in 2019 and willing him to succeed throughout the travails of this year. His resignation in July was a loss for our country. But we are in dire straits now,” she said.
Braverman, the London-born daughter of a Goan-origin father and Tamil-origin mother, herself made a leadership bid in the last leadership election before throwing her weight behind Truss. Having served as Attorney General in the Johnson Cabinet, she described him as the “right leader at the right time” “However, it would be naive to look back on those days with sentimentality. Today, the country is gripped by another crisis. People are worried about their livelihoods, how they will afford their bills and mortgages. Whether they will keep their jobs. Our economy has been bruised. Trust in politics is at a low. Our Conservative Party is divided and heading towards a wipeout,” she said.
“Things need to change. We, as a party, need to change. We need to provide leadership, stability and confidence to the British people… I need a leader who will put our house in order and apply a steady, careful hand on the tiller. That person, for me, is Rishi Sunak,” she said.
