Conservative Party Leader Rishi Sunak has been confirmed as the new prime minister of the United Kingdom after fellow party member Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the race.
The United Kingdom was earlier expecting to welcome Rishi Sunak as its first Indian-heritage prime minister after ex-PM Boris Johnson had stepped down from the race.
The ex-chancellor is in a strong position after Liz Truss resigned, but Penny Mordaunt was expected to fight on.
According to UK media reports, despite claiming to have the support needed, Boris Johnson had ruled himself out of the Conservative Party leadership contest.
Johnson stated that “this would simply not be the right thing to do” because “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament”.
He further added that he would not want to allow his nomination to go further and has decided to show his support to whoever succeeds.
Johnson added, “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s former finance minister, Rishi Sunak, announced his candidacy for the UK Prime Ministerial election on Sunday, after Liz Truss stepped down as prime minister, leaving the country in political turmoil.
Sunak, in a tweet, stated that the United Kingdom was a great country but faced a profound economic crisis. “That’s why I am standing to be the Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country,” he stated.
“I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest,” Sunak’s opponent, Mordaunt, tweeted.
