Rishi Sunak to be UK's new PM, youngest leader in more than 200 years

LONDON: Rishi Sunak will become Britain's next prime minister after he won the race to lead the Conservative Party on Monday (Oct 24), leaving him with the task of steering a deeply divided country through an economic downturn set to leave millions of people poorer.

Sunak, one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster, will be Britain's third prime minister in less than two months. The 42-year-old is also the country's first leader of colour and its youngest in 200 years.

Sunak will be asked to form a government by King Charles, replacing Liz Truss, the outgoing leader who only lasted 44 days in the job before she resigned.

Addressing the public for the first time, Sunak said: "The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge.

"We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together," he said, appearing to rebuff calls from opposition parties for an early general election.

He defeated centrist politician Penny Mordaunt, who failed to get enough backing from lawmakers to enter the ballot, while his rival, the former prime minister Boris Johnson, withdrew from the contest saying he could no longer unite the party.

"This decision is a historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party," Mordaunt said in a statement as she withdrew from the race just minutes before the winner was due to be announced. "Rishi has my full support."

The pound and British government bond prices jumped briefly on news of Mordaunt's withdrawal, but soon returned to their previous levels. According to an ITV reporter, the king was returning to London and could accept Truss' resignation either later on Monday or on Tuesday.

Elected for the first time to parliament in 2015, it is a remarkable return for Sunak who lost a leadership bid to Truss less than two months ago when he was accused by some in the Conservative Party of bringing down their hero, Johnson.