Rishi Sunak has officially taken over as Britain’s Prime Minister, becoming the country’s third leader in seven weeks.
Sunak met King Charles III to accept the role, after outgoing leader Liz Truss met the monarch to offer her resignation.
The ultra-rich ex-banker is the first person of color to lead the UK. He takes over after Truss’s shambolic 50-day tenure which shook Britain’s economy.
Sunak will lead a divided party and will immediately face demands to call a general election and seek his own mandate.
Sunak praises Boris Johnson’s ‘incredible achievements,’ rebuffs calls for general election
Rishi Sunak has promised to place “integrity” and “accountability” at the heart of his premiership, but batted back calls for a general election in his first speech as Prime Minister.
“I will unite our country, not with words but with action,” Sunak said. “This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level,” he added, in an attempt to distance himself from the tenure of Boris Johnson which was brought down by repeated scandals over dishonesty.
“Trust is earned, and I will earn yours,” Sunak said. “I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened,” he later added.
“I always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister, and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit,” he went on.
It was a warm nod to his rival, but perhaps a political necessary one given calls that Sunak pursue an early general election to seek his own mandate, CNN said.
“I know he will agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual,” Sunak said, a direct attempt to rebuff those calls.
Sunak says ‘difficult decisions’ will be necessary to stabilize economy
Rishi Sunak has said he will be forced to make “difficult decisions” as Prime Minister, due to the country’s economic situation.
“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come,” Sunak said.
“But you saw me during Covid doing everything I could to protect people and bossiness with schemes like furlough.”
“There are always limits. More so now than ever,” Sunak said.
“But I promise you this — I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.”
Rishi Sunak pledges to fixes ‘mistakes’ made by Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak is giving his first address to the UK as the country’s Prime Minister, telling the public that Liz Truss made “mistakes” which he has been appointed to fix.
“It is only right to explain why i’m standing her as your new Prime Minister,” Sunak said outside Downing Street.
“Right now, our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of Covid still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains the world over.”
“I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss,” Sunak said.
“She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. It is a noble aim and I admired her restlessness to create change. But some mistakes were made.”
“Not borne of ill will or bad intentions, quite the opposite in fact. But mistakes nonetheless,” Sunak said.
He added that he has been chosen to lead the Conservatives “in part to fix them, and that work begins immediately.”
