After winning the race to lead the Conservative Party, Indian-born Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s next prime minister, tasked with steering a deeply divided country through an economic downturn that will leave millions of people poorer.
Sunak, one of Westminster’s wealthiest politicians and the country’s first black leader, will be asked by King Charles to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss, who resigned after only 44 days in office.
He defeated centrist politician Penny Mordaunt, who did not receive enough legislative support to enter the ballot, while his rival, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, withdrew from the race, claiming he could no longer unite the party.
“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party,” Mordaunt announced her withdrawal from the race in a statement just minutes before the winner was to be announced. “Rishi has my full support.”
The pound and British government bond prices rose briefly in response to Mordaunt’s withdrawal, but quickly fell back to their previous levels. According to an ITV reporter, the king was returning to London and could accept Truss’ resignation later on Monday or Tuesday.
Sunak, a 42-year-old former finance minister, becomes Britain’s third prime minister in less than two months, tasked with restoring stability to a country reeling from years of political and economic turmoil.
The multi-millionaire former hedge fund manager is expected to launch deep spending cuts to try to rebuild Britain’s fiscal reputation as the country slips into recession, dragged down by rising energy and food prices.
