By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#UnitedKingdom, October 28, 2022 – Less than 50 days after losing the public vote to Liz Truss for the post, Rishi Sunak was officially named the new UK Prime Minister with overwhelming MP support. Sunak is the first person of color in Parliament’s 221 year history to hold the role and bags the top spot after only seven years in politics.
Sunak was invited by King Charles lll to start a Government on Tuesday (October 25) afternoon.
He began his career in politics in 2015 and at 42 is the youngest British PM in 210 years following Robert Jenkinson in 1812, who was also 42 at the time. Sunak, a British-Indian of Hindu faith, born to Punjabi immigrants studied at Winchester College, Oxford University and Stanford University sometimes on scholarship. He co-founded an investment company which made him a millionaire.
“I have been fortunate to enjoy a successful business career. I co-founded a large investment firm, working with companies from Silicon Valley to Bangalore.” his bio says. He also met his wife Akshata Murthy, heiress to Infosys Ltd. while at Stanford, the two have a combined net worth of £730 million.
There was little time for campaigning during the snap election to replace Truss, a fact which has several MPs angry.
Deputy leader of the Labour Party Angela Reynor said, “The Tories have crowned Rishi Sunak without him saying a word about what he would do as PM. He has no mandate, no answers and no ideas. Nobody voted for this.”
Labour MP and Chair of Committee on Standards Chris Bryant, “If Rishi Sunak becomes PM without a single interview or a smidgen of scrutiny, let alone a public vote, the British electoral system will look no more democratic than a banana republic. He will have no mandate.”
The comments came as the Labour Party is furiously pushing for a general election after coming off of one of their biggest losses ever in 2019.
Despite this during the previous contest for the top spot in August (which Truss won) Sunak had outlined a plan maintaining it was his intent not to cut taxes until inflation was under control.
Now that he’s in the top spot, Prime Minister Sunak will inherit a party still somewhat divided along with an electorate facing record inflation and an energy crisis coupled now with market turbulence caused by recent economic policies implemented by Liz Truss.
How long he will hold the position, say pundits, depends on whether he will cave to demands for a general election and whether he can lead the conservatives to victory in said election.
The former Finance Minister won the leadership contest by default after both his competitors Boris Johnson and Penny Morduant pulled out of the race. Johnson, who left the post in disgrace in July and is still under investigation for whether he lied to his MPs, claimed standing down was the ‘right thing to do.’
Sunak next named his Cabinet; a team hand-picked to help him get the UK back on track as the Liberal party clamors for an election.