Rishi Sunak becomes UK's third Prime Minister in two months - BBC News

The new leader of the Conservative party is Rishi Sunak and tomorrow morning he will be installed as Britain's youngest

prime

minister

in more than two centuries. Mr Sunac is the first British Asian to become UK Prime Minister. His victory was confirmed this afternoon when his last remaining challenger, Penny Mordant, dropped out of the race just minutes before nominations closed. Sunak will replace Liz Truss just seven weeks after she defeated him in the previous contest and takes office at a time of deep labor economic problems. s p lib Democrats and other opposition parties demand an immediate general election so voters can have their say.

Firstly, let's join our political editor Chris Mason in the Street dining room Hugh, as you say, it was seven weeks ago today that Liz Truss was elected Conservative leader. one day after she became

prime

minister

, today u

rishi

Sunak was elected conservative leader tomorrow he will become prime minister. Yes, as we have reflected in our conversations over the past few weeks, politics moves quickly. It's only been four days since Liz Truss resigned. and now more changes beckon today's new conservative leader this week's new prime minister, urushi

sunak

, arrived at conservative party headquarters this afternoon his party's

third

leader this year waves smiles and handshakes.

I wanted to speak to the country but did not want to face questions from Reporters I would like to pay tribute to Liz Truss for her dedicated public service to the country which she has led with dignity and grace during a time of great change and in exceptionally difficult circumstances both at home and abroad. foreign. It is the greatest privilege of my life. Being able to serve the party I love and give back to the country I owe so much to the UK is a great country but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge, we now need stability and unity and I will make it my top priority to unite our party and our country.

I promise that I will serve you with integrity and humility and I will work day in and day out to deliver for the British people all weekend and until this morning this woman, Penny Morden, also wanted to come forward. He had until two in the afternoon to find 100 supporters and ensure that the final decision would be made by Conservative party members rather than left to the MPS just after his team calculated that they were only a few supporters short of reaching the number. magical. but with minutes left, one of their biggest backers was reconsidering, so here we are, at 1:30 and half an hour to go, the Penny Modern campaign fighting for every possible vote and you've jumped ship, yeah , I think there are many, I mean, there are a hundred more people and I totally understand the legitimacy of arguing that party members should have a say, it is a difficult decision, but I think in the circumstances where the division in the Conservative party costs money, increases the price of money, raises interest rates.

I think the right thing to do is get together today and me, Rishi and Penny will work together. We can work together. I just think, why not do it now instead of waiting three days? Half an hour later, an imminent official announcement and a statement from Penny Mordant, our party. It is our membership, whether we are elected representatives, activists, fundraisers or supporters, we all have a stake in who our leader is, these are unprecedented times despite the compressed timetable for the leadership race, it is clear that the colleagues feel that we need certainty today, they have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country Rishi has my full support adding that we all owe it to the country, each other and Rishi to come together and work together for the good of the nation , there is a lot of work to do and a few Minutes after the confirmation of another new prime minister I can confirm that we have received a valid one Richie Sunac is therefore elected leader of the concept by the current prime minister he replaces her a few weeks after she the conservatives took office Rivals say it's time for a general election and they can't keep handing out prime ministers every month because they are in total chaos and have lost control of the market and have no idea how to deal with the cost . of life that people face is the second person in a row to be appointed Prime Minister by the Conservatives Not elected by the population the idea that it may be two years before seeking or winning a democratic Mandy I think it is simply unthinkable the challenges we face are so serious that we need the Mandate, democracy is given by a general election that the conservative party has evaded that for today this building has seen a lot over the centuries, the generations and rather a little in recent weeks, which poses some sharp questions for those who govern us, what do you say to our viewer who comes to the reasonable conclusion that it has been a complete disaster?

Well, no one, no one would want to see what we've seen in the last few

months

. It has been difficult, it has been painful. I have been discussing with my international counterparts all the challenges that are happening around the world and of course what they want is for the UK governments to want Britain to once again be the rock of stability. I mean, abroad we have become a laughing star well, what is happening, I mean, no one is going to defend what is happening in the last few

months

, it has been painful, it has been brutal, but now it comes to an end.

Autumn's second new premier, the

third

to call this place home this year, the era. by Rishi Sunak for the duration, we'll talk to Chris again in a moment, but let's underline one thing which is Rishi Sunak, as we saw, he's already Conservative leader, he's not prime minister yet, that will happen in the morning, there will be a final. Cabinet meeting chaired by outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss at approximately 9am. m., and then there will be an exit statement from Listruss outside No. 10, around a quarter past ten, and then we will have Mr. Sunac um formally taking office after an audience with the king at Buckingham Palace after that will head to Downing Street and then arriving at Number 10, we believe just after 11:30 there will be a statement from Mr Sunak there as he begins his term as Prime Minister.

Let's go back to Chris in Downing Street and think about Mr Sunac's Chris immediate priorities when he walks through that door at lunchtime tomorrow. Yes, we are becoming quite familiar, aren't we, with the constitutional choreography of the transfer of power from one prime minister to the next? Rishi Sunak's first moment will be just a few feet behind me at the lectern, where we will get the sense of him addressing the country and setting out his priorities as Prime Minister and the character he will bring to the government. Then he will be left behind. the black door and the process of governing will be underway and his first task will be to form a new government.

Now you emphasize the need for stability for all the obvious reasons given what has happened in recent weeks, but how do you illustrate that in those opening hours and at the same time put some of your own stamp on the top table around your cabinet, For example, if you were to elect a new Home Secretary you would have had three Home Secretary in a week, how stable is that? What about the crucial role of We have seen Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in recent days set out his vision for how the economy could be stabilized after the next few weeks and what things could look like in that crucial economic statement currently due next Monday. with Jeremy Hunt or switch to someone else, are just two of the many positions he has to fill in such a complicated balancing act for the new Prime Minister to get it right.