The Conservative Party has yet another new leader and the country will have its third Prime Minister in short succession with Rishi Sunak taking the top position.
His role was assured following the withdrawl from the race to replace Liz Truss by Penny Mordaunt today (October 24).
This afternoon on Twitter Ms Mordaunt said: “It is clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today…as a result, we have now chosen our next Prime Minister.
“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support.”
Rishi Sunak was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020.
He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond since 2015.
As Chancellor, Sunak was the lead in the government’s financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, including the Coronavirus Job Retention and Eat Out to Help Out schemes.
He resigned as chancellor on 5 July, citing economic policy differences with then PM Boris Johnson. Sunak’s resignation, along with the resignation of Javid as Health Secretary, led to Johnson’s resignation amid a government crisis.
In July he stood in the Conservative party leadership election to replace Johnson and lost the members’ vote to Liz Truss.
Following Truss’s resignation after just 45 days as PM Sunak secured backing to become the new Party leader and PM.
The 42-year-old is set to become the first Prime Minister of colour in the United Kingdom and the youngest in modern times. The current record-holder David Cameron, was 43 when he became PM in 2010.
Mr Sunak will not be the youngest prime minister ever to hold the office in this country, that claim goes to William Pitt the Younger who was 24 when he first became prime minister in 1783.
