Sunak to become UK’s PM after Mordaunt joins
Johnson in withdrawing
Now that the former chancellor’s two leadership rivals
have pulled out, Conservative members will not have a say in the contest
Rowena
Mason Whitehall editor
Mon 24 Oct
2022 14.04 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/24/sunak-poised-become-uk-pm-mordaunt-johnson-withdraw
Rishi Sunak
is set to become the new Conservative leader and prime minister after Penny
Mordaunt followed Boris Johnson in withdrawing from the running.
The former
chancellor, who came second in the leadership contest against Liz Truss in the
summer, had secured the backing of more than half the parliamentary party by
Monday morning.
The
candidates had been due to submit their nominations from at least 100 MPs by
Monday at 2pm, but Johnson pulled out on Sunday night, saying he had reached
the threshold but it was not enough to cement party unity.
Tories
willing to cut Rishi Sunak some slack but same tough choices remain
Read more
As Sunak is
the only remaining candidate in the race, the 150,000 Tory members will be
denied a say on who becomes the next prime minister.
However,
Conservative MPs made clear that Sunak was their preferred choice, after members
previously picked Truss, whose disastrous 44 days at the top led to financial
turmoil and her resignation last Thursday.
Sunak’s
ascent to the top job in No 10 after just seven years as an MP and two in the
cabinet is a remarkable rise. He was made chancellor by Johnson just before the
Covid pandemic and is known for launching the furlough scheme to protect jobs,
as well as backing the controversial “eat out to help out” initiative that some
blamed for fuelling a further wave of infections.
A former
Goldman Sachs analyst and hedge fund manager, Sunak is believed to be the
richest MP and was almost written off as a leadership candidate earlier this
year following a furore over his wife’s non-dom tax status and the revelation
that he held a US green card while a minister.
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