Britain’s new leader Rishi Sunak pledged on Tuesday to restore trust in UK politics and “fix the mistakes” made under his predecessor Liz Truss in his first speech from Downing Street after he was appointed prime minister by King Charles III. Earlier, Truss wished Sunak “every success” in a brief farewell address.
Sunak, the UK’s third leader this year, formally took power in an audience with King Charles III, who invited him to form a government in a meeting at Buckingham Palace.
“I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss. She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. It is a noble aim. And I admired her restlessness to create change,” Sunak said in his maiden address from Number 10.
“But some mistakes were made – not born of ill will, or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes, nonetheless. And I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister, in part to fix them,” he added.
Sunak had forecast the run on the pound and market chaos if Truss implemented her financial policies during their leadership race, and he was proved horrifically right.
The 42-year-old Hindu is Britain’s first prime minister of colour and the youngest in more than two centuries.
Sunak became the ruling Conservatives’ new leader on Monday after rival contender Penny Mordaunt failed to secure enough nominations from Tory MPs, and Boris Johnson dramatically aborted a comeback bid.
Earlier on Tuesday, Truss held a final cabinet meeting before making her departing statement in Downing Street.
In a short speech, she defended her legacy of trying to push through tax cuts and wished her successor “every success”.
“We continue to battle through a storm but I believe in Britain, I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead,” Truss said, before heading to Buckingham Palace to formally resign.
She leaves office as the shortest-serving premier in history, after her calamitous tax-slashing budget sparked economic and political turmoil.
The 47-year-old announced her resignation last Thursday, admitting she could not deliver her “mandate” from Conservative members – who had chosen her over Sunak in the summer.
He has now staged a stunning turnaround in political fortunes, and vows to do the same for Britain as it confronts decades-high inflation, surging borrowing costs and a forecast imminent recession.
Later Tuesday, the UK’s fifth prime minister in six years began appointing his cabinet, which is key to bed in his new government and stabilise the markets after the recent unprecendented turmoil. He will then need to prepare for his first criticial ‘Prime Minister’s Questions’ in parliament on Wednesday, where the Opposition parties will get a chance to grill the newly installed leader in front of the cameras. His first ‘PMQ’s will be seen as his first vital test, as it is widely watched and commedted on — if he does not perform, he could be on shakey ground.
Among the appointments, Sunak retained James Cleverly as foreign secretary and Ben Wallace in the defence brief – despite both of them having backed the aborted comeback by Johnson.
The appointments of the pair signaled Sunak’s desire for continuity at the top after the dramatic upheavals seen under the new PM’s predecessor Liz Truss.
Sunak also brought close ally Dominic Raab back as deputy prime minister and justice secretary, and retained Jeremy Hunt as finance minister (chancellor).
Hunt was appointed by Truss just 11 days ago in an ultimately futile bid to salvage her premiership.
He endorsed Sunak on Sunday, writing in the Telegraph that he was a leader “willing to make the choices necessary for our long-term prosperity”.
After reversing almost all of Truss’s various tax cuts, Hunt has warned “difficult decisions” loom over public spending.
As the head of the Treasury he will unveil the government’s much-anticipated medium-term fiscal plans on October 31 alongside independent assessments. – France24.
