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Sunak gets backing of over 100 MPs to enter PM race

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak leaves the Prime Minister Boris Johnson weekly Cabinet Meeting inside No10 Downing Street on his way to deliver his 2021 Budget to the House of Commons. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Rishi Sunak, who fell to Liz Truss in the last leadership contest, got the backing of at least 100 Conservative Party lawmakers to enter the UK PM race.

Conservative British politician of Indian descent Rishi Sunak is quick off the mark to bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party and the British Prime Ministership having secured more than a hundred nominations – which is the minimum requirement to contest for the post.

Sunak, late Friday became the first Tory leadership contender to reach the 100-nomination threshold to run for party leader following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss, reported Independent citing campaign sources.

Sunak, who fell to Truss in the last leadership contest, got the backing of at least 100 Conservative Party lawmakers to enter the UK PM race. This is a key development after Liz Truss’ resignation as UK Prime Minister on Thursday which threw the country into political turmoil and left it scrambling for a stable government, as the opposition reiterated its demand for a general election.

Former UK PM Boris Johnson had also expressed his will to enter the PM race saying he is “up for it.” On Friday, Penny Mordaunt, the Tory leader in the House of Commons too threw her hat in the ring. “I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest,” Mordaunt tweeted.

After Sunak reached the 100 nomination mark Conservative MP for Bournemouth East tweeted, “The free mkt experiment is over – it’s been a low point in our Party’s great history. The reset begins. Time for centrist, stable, fiscally responsible Government offering credible domestic & international leadership. Honoured to be the 100th Tory MP to support #Ready4Rishi.”

File photo shows Boris Johnson hosting the Prime Ministers Business Council alongside Rishi Sunak and leading business figures in 10 Downing Street. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

Former Health secretary Matt Hancock also confirmed his support for Sunak. He tweeted, “I have worked incredibly closely with Boris, Rishi & Penny in Government. I admire all three. With the challenges we face today: economic crisis & the need to restore authoritative leadership, Rishi Sunak is the best person to lead our country. I’m voting Rishi & hope you do too.”

Meanwhile, Tory MP Nigel Mills said it was a “mistake” for him not to back Sunak during the summer’s leadership contest. Mills tweeted, “A few weeks ago I changed my mind and didn’t back Rishi Sunak. I’m not making the same mistake again, he is clearly the prime minister we need to restore stability and tackle the many serious challenges facing the country.”

Tory MPs will vote on Monday, and two candidates will be put forward to the Tory membership unless one pulls out. The result will be announced on Friday, October 28.

It is pertinent to note that Truss became the shortest-serving British PM after she stepped down, stating that she recognises she “cannot deliver the mandate” on which she was elected. Truss said she would step aside for a new leader to be chosen within the next week.

“I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills, Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent and our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth,” she said in a statement.

“I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party,” she added.

Shortly after Truss’s resignation, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer issued a scathing statement that ripped into the Conservative Party and called for a general election.

“After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos. We need a general election now,” he said and added that “Each one of these crises was made in Downing Street but paid for by the British public. Each one has left our country weaker and worse off.”

“The British public deserves a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future. We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now,” he added.

Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the UK House of Commons. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)

Truss stepped down a day after Indian-origin Home Secretary Suella Braverman tendered her resignation, citing “technical infringement of the rules” she committed while sending official documents.

In the letter addressed to PM Truss, she also expressed concerns about the direction of the government and said key pledges made to voters have been broken.

Braverman comes less than a week after UK Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was fired after serving for less than six weeks. Kwarteng was sacked after the new government’s September 23 plan of massive tax cuts resulted in the plunging of British government bonds.

Earlier, Truss defeated former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak through a postal ballot of all Conservative members. Truss secured 81,326 votes while Sunak got 60,399 votes.

Sunak had thanked supporters who backed him in the Conservative Party race and said now it was time for all of them to unite behind the new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The Tory leadership race was triggered after Boris Johnson was forced to step down on July 7 following a series of resignations of cabinet members, who protested against his scandal-plagued leadership. Sunak and Truss rose to the Conservative ranks to end up as finalists for the contest for the post of UK Prime Minister. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Is it back to Boris or Sunak?

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All Eyes On Sunak To Succeed Truss

Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak Spring Statement. Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak on his way to the Cabinet room for the Prime Minister’s weekly Cabinet meeting before delivering his Spring Statement in the House of Commons . Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Rishi Sunak’s warnings about Truss’s economic plans have been largely borne out, which gives him credibility with markets.

With UK’s beleaguered Prime Minister Liz Truss resigning, Conservative MP and Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker has said that former British Chancellor of Indian-origin Rishi Sunak will make a good Prime Minister.

“I feel the country needs a change of direction… Rishi would be a good Prime Minister… We have a number of people in the party who could be good Prime ministers,” Baker told ITV’s Peston.

With just 45 days in office, Truss resigned on Thursday, saying she would remain as Prime Minister until a successor had been chosen, which she said would happen within a week.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader, having lost the faith of her party.

“I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party,” she said.

Prime Minister Liz Truss coming out from No 10 to address the media to announce her resignation as the leader of Conservative Party and Prime Minister of UK. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Barely two months after losing to Liz Truss in the race for UK Prime Minister, Sunak has once again been emerging as the favourite to replace her with 100 Tory MPs considering a no-confidence motion against her.

A YouGov poll of Tory members found that 55 per cent would now vote for 42-year-old Sunak if they were able to vote again, while just 25 per cent would vote for Truss.

According to a Bloomberg report, Conservative MPs are utterly divided over who should take over.

“Rebellious Conservative MPs are destroying the capacity for the party to govern,” Baker told ITV Peston and instead, asked the MPs to do it privately.

Sunak’s warnings about Truss’s economic plans have been largely borne out, which gives him credibility with markets.

“Yet he has large numbers of enemies in the Tory party. There are about 100 MPs on the ideological right of the party — including ardent Brexiteers and supporters of Johnson — who are determined to prevent a Sunak premiership,” the Bloomberg reported.

An MP had said earlier that they are backing “ABSOM” — Anyone But Sunak Or Mordaunt.

Sunak is also blamed for triggering former PM Boris Johnson’s downfall. One minister warned that opting for Sunak would lead to even more Tory infighting, Bloomberg reported.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt is also seen as a PM contender. But he told Sky News he had ruled out ever becoming prime minister for family reasons.

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Bookie odds favour Rishi Sunak comeback

Among the possibilities being considered by Tory rebels is to avoid another full-blown leadership election by getting members of Parliament to unite behind one particular candidate…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Liz Truss, just over a month into the job, is already seen as increasingly unlikely to ride out the turbulence within her own Conservative Party and the financial markets, with her former leadership rival Rishi Sunak the odds-on favourite to make a comeback for 10 Downing Street.

At the end of a tumultuous week in British politics which saw Truss sack her close friend and trusted aide Kwasi Kwarteng who was enforcing her own economic policies as Chancellor, the mutinous voices within the governing Conservatives continue to flag how Sunak had warned against much of the financial meltdown that would follow his rival’s unfunded tax-cutting policies.

The former British Indian Chancellor adopted a silent approach as he hosted two pre-scheduled parties at a central London hotel this week to thank his Ready for Rishi leadership campaign team and officials at the UK Treasury.

“His approach is one part ‘I told you so’ but rather more a sense of sadness. He just says: ‘It didn’t have to be like this’,” a friend was quoted by ‘The Sunday Times’ as saying.

As the Oddschecker bookies’ odds aggregator showed 42-year-old Sunak racing ahead as the favourite to replace 47-year-old Truss, his team is said to be eyeing what would be one of the most remarkable political comebacks in British politics.

According to insiders, Sunak, who lost to Truss in the Tory membership vote after being the clear frontrunner among his parliamentary colleagues, is steering well clear of any accusations of plotting against Truss as he spends time in his constituency of Richmond in Yorkshire.

Among the possibilities being considered by Tory rebels is to avoid another full-blown leadership election by getting members of Parliament to unite behind one particular candidate.

Sunak is not seen as an all-out favourite for that because the fierce loyalists from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s camp, who still blame his resignation as Chancellor for their leader’s exit in the wake of the partygate scandal, are unlikely to rally behind him.

The proposal of a joint unity ticket involving Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, who came third in the shortlisting phase of the leadership contest and now serves as Leader of the House of Commons in the Truss Cabinet, has also been considered.

However, close aides on both sides indicate that neither would be willing to serve as the other’s junior. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is considered a strong contender as the new unity candidate if Truss is convinced to step down. Meanwhile, the prospect of Johnson attempting his own possible comeback of sorts has not been ruled out.

On Sunday, the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, urged his party to unite behind Truss as “the last thing that people really want” is yet another change of leader.

“She’s listened, she’s changed, she’s been willing to do that most difficult thing in politics which is to change tack,” said Hunt, as he insisted Liz Truss is still the one in charge amid reports of him now the de facto leader overturning most of her tax-cutting plans.

“Taxes are not going to go down as quickly as people thought and some taxes are going to go up. So it’s going to be very, very difficult and I think we have to be honest with people about that,” he said.

Hunt, himself a former Tory leadership hopeful and a Sunak supporter, has ruled out vying for the top job again and said he was focussed on the “very big fiscal statement” for the end of this month when much of his predecessor’s controversial mini-budget is set to be reversed. 

ALSO READ-Rishi Sunak demands probe over wife Akshata Murty’s tax leak

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An underdog fights for every inch, says Rishi

Former minister Michael Gove became the most recent senior Tory grandee to warn that her plans were a “holiday from reality” as he endorsed Sunak’s focus on inflation busting…reports Asian Lite News

Two weeks before the UK’s Conservative Party leadership election is set to draw to a close, finalist Rishi Sunak’s team are promoting a new campaign video cashing in on his “underdog” status with rival Liz Truss’ firm lead in the race to succeed Boris Johnson.

The video, first used to introduce Rishi Sunak at a hustings event in Manchester on Friday night, shows the former Chancellor at a series of campaign events since the race began last month and addressing Tory members who are voting for a new party leader to take charge as British Prime Minister on September 5.

“I’ll keep fighting for every vote until the final day,” Sunak tweeted with the video, which counts down 100 events in 30 days to reach 16,000 party members on the campaign trail.

The video shows the 42-year-old British Indian former minister interacting with voters and is also seen catching a quick power nap on a bench as a voiceover praises his efforts to “fight for every inch”.

“They say beware the underdog, because an underdog has got nothing to lose. An underdog fights for every inch,” the voiceover says.

“They work harder, stay longer, think smarter; underdogs don’t give up, they’ll do the difficult things and they never, ever get complacent,” it adds.

It comes as most recent surveys of Tory members casting postal and online ballots in the election and bookie odds strongly indicate a Truss victory, who is campaigning on a tax-cutting plan to address the economic crisis amid soaring prices in the UK.

Former minister Michael Gove became the most recent senior Tory grandee to warn that her plans were a “holiday from reality” as he endorsed Sunak’s focus on inflation busting.

According to a report in the ‘Observer’ on Sunday, more former Cabinet members from Truss’ own party have expressed “jitters” over the current Foreign Secretary’s plans.

One unnamed former minister told the paper they were “worried” about the prospect of Truss being handed the keys to No. 10 Downing Street, adding: “Members are going one way with Liz, the country at large, the other.” “If she carries on with full-on culture wars and the anti-woke stuff, as well as the economic stuff, she will just come across as Boris without the charm. Then she will turn off people in the blue wall,” said another, referring to the northern England seats won over by the Tories from Labour in the 2019 general election.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Labour Party is enjoying a surge in popularity among the wider British electorate. A new Opinium poll for the ‘Observer’ gives Labour and its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, a solid poll boost on the back of his policy to freeze the energy price cap in an effort to help those struggling with exorbitant household bills.

Two weeks ago, 29 per cent of all voters said Truss would be the best Prime Minister, against 28 per cent who chose Starmer. This weekend, Truss has dropped to 23 per cent while Starmer has increased his score to 31 per cent. When the choice was Starmer versus Sunak, 29 per cent backed Starmer and 23 per cent Sunak. The survey of 2,001 adults this week gave Labour a 39 per cent vote share to the Conservatives’ 31 per cent.

A YouGov poll for ‘The Times’ on Saturday also showed Starmer’s party enjoying its biggest lead in 10 years, on 43 per cent, 15 points ahead of the Conservatives on 28 per cent.

ALSO READ-Sunak may head to US if he loses PM race

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Truss vows to scrap all EU laws by next year

Liz Truss with members from Richmond Conservatives. (Photo: Twitter@trussliz)

Liz Truss said she will “seize the chance to diverge from outdated EU law and frameworks and capitalise on the opportunities.”

Amid the ongoing contest for the Tory leadership, top contender Liz Truss has promised to review all EU laws retained in the British statute book by the end of next year, and to scrap measures deemed to be holding back the City of London.

UK foreign secretary Truss, in a statement, vowed a “red tape bonfire” if she became prime minister, including reform of the Mifid II trading rules. She also promised to unleash the “full potential” of Britain post-Brexit.

 “EU regulations hinder our businesses and this has to change. In Downing Street, I will seize the chance to diverge from outdated EU law and frameworks and capitalise on the opportunities we have ahead of us,” she was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

This comes as Truss along with former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak emerged as the final two candidates in the country’s leadership race of the ruling Conservative party on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, International Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt was knocked out in the final round of ballot among Conservative lawmakers. Sunak won 137 votes and Truss 113.

The contest to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister will now go before the Conservative Party’s 200,000-odd dues-paying members, who will select the winner later this summer via mail-in ballot. The winner, to be announced on Sept. 5, will automatically become Johnson’s successor.

https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1550442678994833410

Though Sunak has won each of the five rounds of voting by lawmakers, a YouGov poll published on Tuesday showed that he was less popular with the party’s grassroots. He is predicted to lose to Truss, a favourite of the party’s right-wing, in the head-to-head contest.

Both candidates have made pledges on tax cuts as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. However, Sunak dismissed as “fairytales” his rivals’ promises of immediate tax cuts, arguing that inflation must be brought under control first.

Inflation in Britain rose by 9.4 per cent in June, hitting a fresh 40-year high, official statistics showed on Wednesday. Truss, on the other hand, promised to start cutting taxes from day one.

The Tory leadership race was triggered after Johnson was forced to step down on July 7 by an avalanche of resignations of government officials, who protested against his scandal-plagued leadership. Johnson continues to serve as caretaker prime minister until a new Tory leader succeeds him. (ANI)

ALSO READ: UK inflation hits fresh 40-year high

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Rishi Sunak tops poll

To become premier, Sunak must fend off the challenge of other leadership contenders including Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss…..reports Asian Lite News

The leading contender to become the UK’s next prime minister said he plans to make the most of the opportunities thrown up by shaking off the “shackles” of European Union regulation.

Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that, if chosen to lead the Conservative Party, he will have “scrapped or reformed all of the EU law, red tape and bureaucracy that is still on our statute book and slowing economic growth” in time for the next election.

So far in the leadership race, Sunak has tapped into the support of moderate MPs, while drawing fire from opponents who accuse him of championing of high-spend, high-tax policies.

In a pitch to the right wing of the party, he said he’d task a new “Brexit delivery” department with reviewing 2,400 EU laws still on the statute book, scrap the EU’s Solvency II rules to incentivise investment, replace the bloc’s data privacy regulations and speed up medical trial approvals.

To become premier, Sunak must fend off the challenge of other leadership contenders including Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss.

The next vote in the Conservative leadership context will be on Monday afternoon. By Wednesday, the field will be narrowed to two contenders who will face off in a ballot of party members.

Almost half of the voters for the UK’s governing Conservative Party believe Rishi Sunak will make a good Prime Minister, according to the results of a new opinion poll on Sunday.

‘The Sunday Telegraph’ reports that the JL Partners poll of more than 4,400 people found that 48% of those who backed the Tories in the 2019 general election felt the former Chancellor would be a good prime minister.

This is also the first poll that puts foreign secretary Liz Truss in second place, with 39% backing her for premier and 33% in favour of trade minister Penny Mordaunt.

Among all voters, the most popular policy priority was to “turn the economy around

ALSO READ: UK PM contenders set to clash in TV debateshows West’s dominance ending’

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Most votes for Rishi in PM race after first round

Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak Spring Statement. Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak on his way to the Cabinet room for the Prime Minister’s weekly Cabinet meeting before delivering his Spring Statement in the House of Commons . Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

The process involving directly elected Conservative lawmakers in the House of Commons is expected to by next week whittle down the competition to just two runners…reports Asian Lite News

Erstwhile Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, who is of East African Indian origin, won the first round of balloting in the British ruling Conservative party to choose a Prime Minister, attracting 88 votes.

Penny Mordaunt, a former Defence Secretary, came second with 67 votes. Third was Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary, securing 50 votes. Attorney General Suella Fernandes Braverman, who is of Goan Indian descent, scraped through with 32 votes.

A total of 358 MPs were eligible to vote.

Nadhim Zahawi, who briefly succeeded Sunak as Chancellor before Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to resign, and Jeremy Hunt, a Health Secretary and Foreign Secretary in previous governments, were eliminated. A candidate had to cross a threshold of 30 votes to remain in the race; which they failed to obtain.

The process involving directly elected Conservative lawmakers in the House of Commons is expected to by next week whittle down the competition to just two runners.

The voting will then be thrown open to all full members of the Conservative party – estimated to be around 160,000 – to express their preference.

A survey conducted by a leading polling company YouGov for The Times newspaper of the UK suggested Mordaunt would easily beat other candidates in the final ballot of the full membership. Her closest competition would come from Liz Truss, who, the pollster forecast, she would defeat by 55 per cent to 37 per cent votes.

If Sunak makes it to the last two, he is projected to lose by 67 per cent to 28 per cent votes.

Meanwhile, Johnson has thrown an extraordinary spanner in the works by tabling a confidence motion on his government on Monday.

If he loses the vote, there could theoretically be a mid-term general election, thus jettisoning the current leadership contest for his replacement.

If he wins, then, technically, it could raise the question as to whether his resignation last week is still valid.

The opposition Labour party had moved a motion in the House of Commons against Johnson so as to cut short his caretaker role. This was disallowed.

A government spokesman told media: “Labour were given the option to table a straightforward vote of no confidence in the government in keeping with convention. However, they chose not to. To remedy this we are tabling a motion which gives the house the opportunity to decide if it has confidence in the government.”

The Guardian quoted a Labour source as saying the proposal was “madness”, and added: “Not sure the Tory leadership candidates or marginal MPs will welcome this.”

ALSO READ-Sunak would run economy like Margaret Tatcher

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Race for top job widens

Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the Cabinet room for the Prime Minister’s weekly cabinet meeting before delivering his Spring Statement in the House of Commons . Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

For a traditionally low-tax favouring Conservative Party, the focus of the race is expected to be on the candidates’ plans to cut taxes…reports Asian Lite News

Former Cabinet minister Rishi Sunak maintained his lead as the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and next Prime Minister widened with a total of nine candidates in the fray, with Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt emerging as an early second favourite.

Mordaunt shared a #pm4pm video to announce her candidacy, following Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Pakistani-origin former Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

The complete line-up so far for the leadership race includes Goan-origin Attorney General Suella Braverman, Iraqi-origin Nadhim Zahawi, Nigerian-origin Kemi Bedanoch and Tory backbencher Tom Tugendhat.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to declare her candidacy soon too, taking the total to 10 potential candidates in one of the widest battlefields for a Tory leadership race.

“Our leadership has to change. It needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship,” said Mordaunt, who is now second ranked in the bookmaker’s odds with Sunak still ahead.

“If I become Prime Minister, I will protect women’s rights and ensure women and girls enjoy the same freedom most males take for granted in feeling safe from assault and abuse,” the UK-born former Chancellor said on Sunday.

The 42-year-old son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy had launched his bid with a pledge to restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country.

He is yet to lay out his plans in full but has so far not indicated any immediate tax cuts if elected leader.

For a traditionally low-tax favouring Conservative Party, the focus of the race is expected to be on the candidates’ plans to cut taxes.

Javid – the UK-born son of British Pakistani bus driver who has also served as a former Chancellor in the Cabinet – promised wide-ranging tax cuts, including cancelling next year’s scheduled hike in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent and instead gradually reduce it by 1p a year to 15 per cent.

“I don’t believe in unfunded tax cuts. This is a funded proposal,” he told the BBC soon after launching his bid.

Hunt, who came second in the last Tory leadership race when he lost to Boris Johnson, has set out a rival plan to reduce corporation tax to 15 per cent in the Budget later this year if elected.

He also revealed that if he becomes leader, he would make former minister Esther McVey, who founded the “blue collar” group aiming to target working-class voters, his Deputy Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Nadhim Zahawi has also said he wants to cut taxes for “individuals, families and businesses” and Shapps has promised to cut personal tax for the poorest.

The timetable for the leadership contest is expected to be announced next week after a meeting on Monday of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbench MPs, who set the rules for the race.

It will be a two-stage process, with Conservative MPs whittling down the field to two candidates through successive rounds of voting, before the wider Tory party membership elect their winner.

It is expected that the new Conservative Party leader would be known by early September.

ALSO READ-Sunak reflects on his Indian heritage

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Rishi Sunak launches bid to replace Boris Johnson

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on his way to brief members of the cabinet at the weekly Cabinet meeting inside No10 Downing Street, on the day the Chancellor delivers his summer statement to the House during the coronavirus. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Sunak shot from relative obscurity to fame when the just-ousted Prime Minister Boris Johnson fast-tracked him to the powerful post of Chancellor in 2020, a report by Ashis Ray

Indian-origin former Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British government Rishi Sunak on Friday formally launched his bid to become leader of the Conservative Party. If he succeeds, he will automatically become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

He tweeted: “I’m standing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and your prime minister.” He added: “Let’s restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country.” He also launched a website ready4rishi.com

Sunak posted along with the tweet a three-minute video setting out his intentions. He said: “I got into politics because I want everyone in this country to have those same opportunities, to be able to give their children a better future.”

He continued: “Our country faces huge challenges, the most serious for a generation. And the decisions we make today will decide whether the next generation of British people will also have the chance of a better future.”

Sunak shot from relative obscurity to fame when the just-ousted Prime Minister Boris Johnson fast-tracked him to the powerful post of Chancellor in 2020. He had been a Member of Parliament for less than five years. He became quite popular within months by providing financial support during the Covid pandemic, including furloughs to employees and soft loans to employers.

But the public liking for him was dented when this year he introduced taxes to reduce the government’s heavy borrowings. This was followed by controversy over his wife avoiding paying taxes in Britain and instead doing so at a lower rate in India from her dividends from shares in Infosys, the Bangalore-based software giant founded by her father N.R. Narayana Murthy. Sunak was then accused of retaining his Green Card in the US, where he had studied and worked.

It will not be surprising if his opponents in the upcoming competition cite his wife’s matter and the Green Card issue against him.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is joined by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak as they make their way up the staircase of No10 Downing Street to give a press conference on the Coronavirus. (Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street)

The son of a medical practitioner is, however, still one of the favourites in the contest, with probably Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, the current favourite.

Sunak resigned as chancellor on Tuesday, highlighting ideological and policy differences with Johnson. But also saying in his resignation letter that “the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously”.

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BIG BLOW FOR BORIS

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid quit expressing their loss of confidence in PM’s leadership amidst a spate of scandals…reports Asian Lite News

In a big blow to embattled British Prime Minister Johnson, two of his senior Cabinet colleagues, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, resigned on Tuesday, as they expressed their loss of confidence in his leadership amidst a spate of scandals.

The 42-year-old British Indian minister posted his resignation letter on Twitter soon after another senior Cabinet colleague, Health Secretary Sajid Javid, resigned.

The ministerial exits will come as a big blow to Johnson’s leadership and follow a day of high political drama since a former civil servant spoke out about Downing Street’s handling of allegations against recently suspended MP Chris Pincher.

“The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously,” Sunak tweeted.

“I recognise this may be last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning,” he said.

It came soon after Johnson said he “bitterly regrets” giving Pincher a government role as Deputy Chief Whip after being made aware of a misconduct complaint against him.

“In hindsight it was the wrong thing to do and I apologise to everyone who has been badly affected by it. I just want to make absolutely clear that there’s no place in this government for anybody who is predatory or abuses their position of power,” he said.

Sajid Javid, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, in his resignation letter said, “We [Conservative party] may not have always been popular, but we have been competent in acting in the national interest. Sadly, in the current circumstances, the public are concluding that we are now neither.”

The vote of confidence last month showed that a large number of our colleagues agree.

“I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership and you have therefore lost my confidence too.

Johnson has been publicly backed by loyal allies Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and minister for Brexit Opportunities Jacob Rees-Mogg, who insisted the prime minister was the “right man for the job”.

The resignation of two senior cabinet ministers has plunged Mr Johnson into a fresh leadership crisis weeks after he survived a no-confidence vote.

The PM is immune from a Conservative leadership challenge until June next year under party rules, after he won 59% of the vote.

In response to the resignations, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would welcome a snap election and the country needed a change of government.

He said: “After all the sleaze, all the failure, it’s clear that this Tory government is now collapsing.”

The next general election is expected to be held in 2024 but could be earlier if Mr Johnson used his powers to call one.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, said the prime minister’s “government of chaos has failed our country”, and called for him to go.

Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said “the whole rotten lot” in Mr Johnson’s government should go, accusing ministers of “lying to public”.

During the course of the day, some of the PM’s prominent critics called on government ministers to put pressure on the prime minister to resign.

A chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and an ex-chancellor, Sajid Javid, have done just that. Both men see their resignations as necessary if the PM is to be pushed out.

Both may be positioning for a future leadership contest. But even now, Downing Street will hope to avoid this.

Boris Johnson still has his foreign secretary, home secretary, defence secretary and business secretary.

And, remember, a beleaguered Gordon Brown survived a ministerial resignation because the rest of his cabinet stayed loyal, when he was in Number 10.

But it now seems more likely that other ministers, in more junior roles, who have been privately critical of Boris Johnson could follow Mr Sunak and Mr Javid’s lead.

The last Conservative prime minister to face a party vote on their leadership was Theresa May, who won the vote but resigned six months later over her approach to Brexit.

Johnson’s government has been dogged by a series of controversies in recent months, prompting some Tory MPs to call for the prime minister’s resignation.

Discontent among Tory MPs has grown since a highly critical report into lockdown parties in and near Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic was published earlier this year.

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