Rishi Sunak Appointed As The Next UK PM After Liz Truss' Short-Lived Triumph

After little more than a month in office, a consensus is building that Liz Truss could be revoked as the UK's prime minister amid the growing economic crisis. But who could succeed her as the Conservatives’ fifth prime minister since Brexit, and third since the 2019 general election?

When Liz Truss announced her new cabinet after Boris Johnson tendered his resignation, she promised she would cut taxes and slash red tape and would spur Britain’s sluggish economy to grow. However, former Indian British chancellor Rishi Sunak who was also contesting for the Prime Minister position then had warned that immediate tax cuts would be of no use amid the economic shockwaves from the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Liz Truss was forced to resign and Rishi Sunak became the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Monday, October 24. The 42-year-old is also the first person of colour to serve as Prime Minister. Truss will step down today, October 25 and Sunak will become the Prime Minister. He will ask King Charles III for symbolic permission to form a government.

Suggested Reading: Liz Truss Elected United Kingdom’s 56th prime minister, Defeating Rishi Sunak

Junior Treasury minister Andrew Griffith argued Sunday that Truss should be given a chance to try to restore order, reported The Associated Press.

“This is a time when we need stability,” he told Sky News. “People at home are just tearing their hair out at the level of uncertainty. What they want to see is a competent government getting on with (the) job.”

UK Leadership: Why Rishi Sunak replace Liz Truss?

After Liz Truss sacked finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, voices within the governing Conservative party continue to flag how Rishi Sunak had warned against the financial meltdown in the wake of Liz Truss' tax-cut policies, The Telegraph reported. Now, the UK is set to unveil tax and spending measures later on Monday as new finance minister Jeremy Hunt takes lead following last month's budget that caused the pound to tumble down.

Many outlets report that even though Rishi Sunak is not an all-out favourite among his party, many are likely to tally behind him, telling Liz Truss that her ‘time is up’. Sunak secured more than a hundred nominations, the minimum requirement to contest for the post.

The former chancellor of the exchequer has found significant support in the past month with many calling him “prescient” about Truss' market policies.

The party thinks a deal between Sunak, who fell short of Truss in the party membership vote by a margin of 57 to 43%, and Penny Mordaunt, who finished third in the initial round of MP voting before endorsing Truss, is possible, reports Mint.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has also called embattled British PM Liz Truss' abandoned tax cut plan a ‘mistake.’ He further added that other nations' fiscal policies may hurt the US amid "worldwide inflation."