Rishi Sunak has won the race to be named the next Prime Minister of the UK and the leader of the Conservative party.
He had been running alongside former PM Boris Johnson – whose cabinet he was part of – and Penny Mordaunt.
But the former Chancellor’s rivals have now withdrawn their leadership bids, leaving the path clear for Mr Sunak.
He is set to become the UK’s first British Asian prime minister and will be tasked with restoring order to Britain’s tattered economy.
He had previously bid to lead the Tory party but missed out to Liz Truss, who held the position for only 44 days before resigning.
Ms Mordaunt said today: “Our Party is our membership. Whether we are elected representatives, activists, fundraisers or supporters. We all have a stake in who our leader is.
“These are unprecedented times. Despite the compressed timetable for the leadership contest it is clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today. They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country.
Read more: Boris Johnson pulls out of leadership race as Rishi Sunak tipped to be new PM
“Members should know that this proposition has been fairly and thoroughly tested by the agreed 1922 process.
“As a result, we have now chosen our next Prime Minister. This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support.
“I am proud of the campaign we ran and grateful to all those, across all sides of our party, who gave me their backing. We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation. There is much work to be done.”
Featured image: Flickr
