Update: After Penny Mordaunt’s withdrawal from the contest, the 1922 Committee Chairman Sir Graham Brady announced that Rishi Sunak would be the new Tory leader. Sunak in his statement after the announcement said, he would serve with “integrity and humility.”
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Rishi Sunak is all set to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, replacing Liz Truss, who resigned after a 44-day tenure at 10 Downing street. According to betting odds, Sunak has a 96% chance of becoming the next Tory leader.
Fellow contender Penny Mordaunt has 25 backers and is counting on support from some Johnson supporters. She would require 100 MPs by 14:00 BST today to contest. Whereas Rishi Sunak already has the backing of more than 170 lawmakers. And his support base is expanding with Nadhim Zahawi, Priti Patel, and James Cleverly shifting their votes.
In September, Sunak lost to fellow contender Liz Truss. However, Truss came under massive criticism after her mini-budget, with unfunded tax cut packages, took a hit on the economy and strained the value of the pound. In a measure to fix the economy, she even replaced Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng with Jeremy Hunt, who reversed almost all her decisions. However, finally, she chose to step down.
Soon after Liz Truss’ resigned, Hunt said he was endorsing Rishi Sunak for the PM chair. He said, “To restore stability and confidence, we need a leader who can be trusted to make difficult choices. We have a leader who can do just that in Rishi Sunak.”
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, who flew back from the Caribbean on Saturday and was working to build support, decided not to contest. He said, “I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
Image: PA Media