• Rishi Sunak wins the Conservative Party leadership race and is set to become the next UK PM.
• The development follows weeks of turmoil; Sunak will be the third British premier in two months after Boris Johnson and Liz Truss resigned.
How does Sunak become PM?
Although Sunak has been named as the new leader of the Conservative Party, he does not automatically become the UK’s prime minister.
For that to happen, incumbent Conservative PM Liz Truss will first have to visit UK monarch King Charles III to formally stand down.
Charles will then meet with Sunak and ask him to form a new government.
No timetable has been announced yet for the formalities, though it is widely expected that they will take place either later on Monday or on Tuesday.
Liz Truss to Sunak: ‘You have my full support’
Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss says Rishi Sunak has her full support.
“Congratulations @RishiSunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister,” Truss said on Twitter. “You have my full support.”
Truss, who replaced Boris Johnson, lasted 44 days in the job.
Lib Dem leader slams Sunak as ‘out-of-touch’, calls for general election
The leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats party has criticised Sunak as “out-of-touch” and called for an immediate general election.
“The Conservatives have trashed our economy, pushed health services to the brink, and added hundreds of pounds to people’s mortgage payments,” MP Ed Davey tweeted.
“Now Conservative MPs have installed another out-of-touch Prime Minister without giving you a say. We need [a] General Election NOW.”
Labour MP says Sunak has ‘no mandate, no answers and no ideas’
Opposition Labour Party MP Angela Rayner has questioned Sunak’s appointment as the Conservative Party’s new leader, saying he has “no mandate, no answers and no ideas”, and called for the public to have their say at a general election.
“The Tories have crowned Rishi Sunak without him saying a word about what he would do as PM,” Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, tweeted.
“He has no mandate, no answers and no ideas. Nobody voted for this. The public deserve their say on Britain’s future through a General Election. It’s time for a fresh start with Labour.”
Conservative chairman calls on party to unite behind Sunak
The chairman of the Conservative Party has called on its members to unite behind Sunak as its new leader.
“Now is the time for the whole party to come together and unite four-square behind Rishi, as he gets on with the vital work of tackling the challenges we face as a country,” Jake Berry said in a statement.
“The time for internal debates is well and truly over, and led by Rishi Sunak, I know we can and will deliver on the priorities of the British people.”
Sunak will be first person of colour, first Hindu to lead Britain
Rishi Sunak’s victory is seen by some as a victory for diversity and representation in British politics, which is overwhelmingly dominated by older white men.
He will be the UK’s first person of colour, first of Asian heritage and first Hindu to lead the country.
He was born in Southampton, an English port city, to Indian parents who had immigrated in the 1960s.
He will also be the youngest for more than 200 years at the age of 42.
Ex-PM Cameron congratulates Sunak on winning PM race
David Cameron, Conservative Party prime minister from 2010 to 2016, has congratulated Sunak on his imminent elevation to the country’s highest political office.
“Huge congratulations Rishi Sunak on becoming PM to lead us through challenging times,” Cameron tweeted.
Sunak declared next leader of UK Conservative Party
Sunak has been declared the new leader of the Conservative Party by the head of the 1922 Committee of Conservative legislators, placing him on course to be the UK’s next prime minister.
Graham Brady, the 1922 committee’s chairman, said Sunak would address Conservative MPs at 2:30pm (13:30 GMT) following his leadership race win.
The 1922 committee sets the rules for selecting and changing the party’s leader.
Mordaunt drops out of leadership race, backs Sunak
Mordaunt has announced she is dropping out of the race to replace Liz Truss, paving the way for Rishi Sunak to become the UK’s next prime minister.
“We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation,” she tweeted. “There is much work to be done.”
Mordaunt did not specifically say whether she had failed to secure the required 100 nominations from Conservative MPs to run in a leadership election.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith backs Sunak for PM
Iain Duncan Smith, a former leader of the Conservative Party who backed Truss during her leadership contest against Sunak over the summer, has said he is now backing the ex-chancellor.
“It is time for us to end the leadership contest and get a PM in place ASAP. I have reached the decision that senior experience at the heart of government matters most. To that end I shall support Rishi Sunak,” he tweeted.
▪︎ SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
