London
CNN
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Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak emerged on Sunday as the frontrunner to be the next in the country. first Ministerafter, after Boris Johnson He largely withdrew from the race to be the leader of the Conservative Party.
Incumbent Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned last week after just six weeks in office. Graham Brady, the Conservative Party official in charge of the leadership contest, said the new prime minister would be in office by Friday.
Candidates for gear replacement You have until 2pm (9am ET) on Monday to secure the support of 100 Tory lawmakers to enter the race to become the party – and the country’s new leader. Johnson’s decision to withdraw from the contest leaves Sunak competing against House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt.
If both candidates get the support of 100 deputies, it will be almost up to 172,000 members of the Conservative Party To choose the new leader in online voting.
As of Sunday evening, Sunak was the only one of the pair to have achieved the necessary minimum of 100 nominations.
If he remains the only one to reach that number of supporters, he will automatically become the new leader of the Conservative Party. The party’s parliamentary majority ensures that he will also become the country’s next prime minister.
After days of speculation, Sunak officially announced he would take part in the contest on Sunday, writing on Twitter: “The UK is a great country but we are facing a deep economic crisis. That’s why I stand to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our party and help our country.”
“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done.”
Many Johnson supporters blamed Sunak for helping to oust Johnson from power in July following a series of scandals, but on Sunday night he praised the former prime minister after he withdrew from the race. “Boris Johnson delivered Brexit and the great vaccine launch. He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we’ve ever faced, then faced Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine. We will always be grateful to him for that,” Sunak tweeted.
“Although he has decided not to run for prime minister again, I really hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”
Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labor Party, renewed his calls for a general election on Sunday, after claiming that people are “tired to their back teeth” of Conservative leadership and the consequences of their government’s decisions.
“There is a choice to be made. We need a general election! Let the public decide…Do they want to continue in this utter chaos, or do they want stability under a Labor government?” asked Starmer during a BBC interview.
Mordaunt was the first to announce her candidacy on Friday. She promised a “new beginning” for the UK, with the goal of “unifying our country, delivering on our pledges and winning the next general election”. It also operates under a catchy hashtag: “PM4PM”.
Mordaunt came third in the last leadership election, narrowly losing to be placed in front of members. With 105 MPs votes in the last election, she is also expected to cross the new threshold, and do well among party members, in part due to her military credentials. Mordaunt is a reservist in the Royal Navy and served for a short period as Secretary of State for Defense.
The last time the Conservatives held a leadership race – after the demise of the Johnson government – Truss came first, Sonak second and Mordaunt third. Johnson did not run.
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