Rishi Sunak on Tuesday became Britain’s third prime minister in the space of two months after being invited to form a government by King Charles on Tuesday morning.
Sunak arrived in Downing St after several months of political and economic turmoil. Boris Johnson resigned in July after a series of scandals while Liz Truss, who became prime minister on September 5, crashed the economy.
Truss gave her final speech as UK prime minister on Tuesday, urging Sunak to be “bold” and making no apology for the chaos that engulfed her party and the markets during her brief time in office.
Speaking in Downing St, she suggested that Sunak should pursue her policy agenda of low taxes, while pursuing “Brexit opportunities”. Vowing to continue serving as MP for South West Norfolk, she said: “I know that brighter days lie ahead.”
She made no mention of her disastrous September 23 “mini” Budget, with its £45bn of debt-funded tax cuts. Sterling plunged, gilt yields rose, the Bank of England was forced to intervene and she sacked her chancellor.
Sunak will on Tuesday afternoon begin forming his first cabinet. Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor who immediately began demolishing Truss’s economic plan, is widely expected by Tory MPs to continue in his job.
Hunt has planned to unveil a new fiscal plan next week, showing how the government will cut debt as a share of GDP in the medium term, ahead of a Bank of England decision on interest rates on November 3.
Michael Gove, Kemi Badenoch, Oliver Dowden and Suella Braverman are among Sunak’s supporters who are hoping for good jobs.
Sunak faces major challenges including the UK economic downturn and cost of living crisis, the repercussions of Brexit, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Addressing Conservative MPs on Monday, Sunak said the party needed to “unite or die” following its ratings plunge in opinion polls. “We get one shot. No second chances. This is an existential moment,” he added.
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