Rishi Sunak has scripted history by becoming Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister. His former boss Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt could not gather the support of 100 MPs needed to stand in the elections. The former U.K. Treasury chief was runner-up to Ms. Liz Truss in the contest to replace the scandal-plagued Mr. Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister. But Ms. Truss quit after a turbulent 45-day term, and Mr. Johnson has abandoned a comeback attempt, leaving Mr. Sunak a strong favorite to finally assume the office he missed out on less than two months ago.
Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s next prime minister after he won the race to lead the Conservative Party, leaving him with the task of steering a deeply divided country through an economic downturn set to leave millions of people poorer.
Sunak, one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster and set to be the country’s first leader of colour, will be asked to form a government by King Charles, replacing Liz Truss, the outgoing leader who only lasted 44 days in the job before she resigned.
Sunak, the 42-year-old former finance minister, becomes Britain’s third prime minister in less than two months, tasked with restoring stability to a country reeling from years of political and economic turmoil. The multi-millionaire former hedge fund boss will be expected to launch deep spending cuts to try to rebuild Britain’s fiscal reputation, just as the country slides into a recession, dragged down by the surging cost of energy and food.
