Rishi Sunak has been chosen as the leader of the Conservative Party on Monday and is set to be next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
He was backed by more than 190 MPs as his contender Penny Mordaunt failed to earn the backing of 100 MPs which is a prerequisite for entering the PM race and bowed out of the race, minutes before the 1922 Committee Chief Sir Graham Brady announced the results.
UK media outlets say that it is unlikely for Sunak to be formally announced as the country’s Prime Minister today but ITV, another UK media outlet, reported that King Charles III will travel from Sandringham to London on Monday afternoon itself.
Liz Truss and the incoming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak need to meet the King and only after his invitation Sunak can form the government.
Penny Mordaunt announced in a tweet that she is dropping out of the race and backing Sunak as UK Prime Minister.
— Penny Mordaunt (@PennyMordaunt) October 24, 2022
“These are unprecedented times. Despite the compressed timetable for the leadership contest it is clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today. They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country,” Mordaunt said.
“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,” she further added.
Outgoing prime minister Liz Truss also announced her full support for her successor.
Congratulations @RishiSunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister.
You have my full support.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) October 24, 2022
Sunak becomes the 57th prime minister of the UK and the first person of colour to lead the country. He is also UK’s first Hindu premier but the former chancellor to the exchequer has rarely spoken about his religion despite being a practising Hindu.
Sunak announced his bid to become the prime minister days after the outgoing prime minister Liz Truss announced her resignation on October 20 after party members rebelled against her citing that her mini-budget negatively affected the UK economy.
Truss is the shortest-serving prime minister in UK’s political history as she served only for 40 days. It should also be noted that Truss defeated Rishi Sunak, 40 days earlier, on September 5.
On Monday, the former Goldman Sachs analyst, gained the support of heavyweight Tory leaders like Iain Duncan Smith and Priti Patel along with the support of former contender Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat.
Sunak also faced opposition from the Johnsonite faction of the Tories. The Johnsonite faction is the right-wing faction within the Tories who did not want Sunak to be prime minister since they felt that it was his resignation from former prime minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet that led to his resignation.
But on Monday, a section of the Boris Johnson’s faction voted for Sunak.
Conservative Party leaders are hopeful that Sunak will unite the party and Lord Howell, a Conservative Party leader, said Sunak has to face these new challenges and emerge victorious, while speaking to Sky News.
Some sections of the public, however, told British media outlets that they should have a say. Some Tories also felt the vote should have gone to party members but a section among the Tories felt that Mordaunt did not want further division within the party.
Read all the Latest News here