Rishi Sunbak will become the UK’s first British Asian PM and at 42, the youngest in more than a century
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak, 42, will be the next prime minister of Britain after main challenger Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the Tory leadership race in the final minutes before nominations closed at 2pm.
He is greeted by rapturous applause and banging on desks as he arrives to address Tory MPs following the result. Sunak will succeed Liz Truss seven weeks after she defeated him in the previous Tory contest.
The ex-chancellor gained the support of well over half of Tory MPs, with Mordaunt struggling to reach the threshold of 100 MPs to get on the ballot. He will become the UK’s first British Asian PM and at 42, the youngest in more than a century, BBC reported.
Meanwhile, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has demanded a general election now. Labour, Liberal Democrats are also seeking the election.
“The Tories cannot be allowed to impose a third prime minister without a general election, voters must get a say and the SNP is determined to ensure they do,” he said.
“The Tory government had no mandate to trash the UK economy with its disastrous budget.
“And it has no mandate to install yet another leader who will impose devastating austerity cuts, making households pay through their teeth for Tory mistakes.”
Blackford said he had written to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to say the SNP would back a vote of no confidence in the government if he tabled one.
But with the Tory government currently holding a majority of more than 70 MPs, that would be unlikely to succeed. But, the Tory rebels belong to the Johnson faction will make the governance a bumpy road.