Page 2 - British Prime Minister

Indian-origin Rishi Sunak to become Britain's next prime minister

Sunak will replace Liz Truss, who served as Britain's shortest-serving prime minister

Johnson loyalist Priti Patel comes out in support of Rishi Sunak as UK PM

Priti Patel, a loyalist of former British prime minister Boris Johnson, on Monday came out in support of Rishi Sunak to take over at 10 Downing Street as the Conservative Party leader after her former boss withdrew from the leadership contest. The Indian-origin former home secretary, who resigned from the Cabinet when Liz Truss was elected the Prime Minister last month, said the Tories must put political differences aside to give Sunak the best chance of succeeding as the new leader. Her intervention came as the former chancellor looks well poised as the frontrunner to make history as the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the UK, with publicly voiced support for Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt still well short of the 100-MPs threshold. In these difficult times for our country we must unite by putting public service first and work together, tweeted Patel. We care about our country and with the enormous challenges upon us we must put political differences aside to give Rishi

Rishi Sunak closer to victory as Boris Johnson pulls out of UK PM race

In a surprise move, former British PM Boris Johnson on Sunday announced that he will not be contesting the Conservative Party leadership race, with frontrunner Rishi Sunak moving a step closer to be elected Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister. The 55-year-old former leader claimed he had crossed the 100-MPs threshold but decided not to go forward in the interest of Tory party's unity. In a statement, Johnson who resigned in July in the wake of the partygate' scandal of COVID-19 lockdown law-breaking parties said he had "cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations", but came to the conclusion that "this is simply not the right time". I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds, Johnson said. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.. And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny because I hoped that we could come together in the national ..

Suella Braverman supports Rishi Sunak as 'unity' candidate for UK PM

Britain's recently-resigned Home Secretary Indian-origin Suella Braverman on Sunday came out in support of Rishi Sunak to replace outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss as the candidate who can provide unity, stability and efficiency to the governing Conservatives. In a boost to frontrunner Sunak and a blow to former prime minister Boris Johnson's expected bid for Tory leadership, the former minister with significant support on the extreme right of Tory party said Johnson was no longer the best choice for the party or the country. Her intervention comes just days after her dramatic exit from Cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code and a scathing attack on Truss' leadership. We need unity, stability and efficiency. Rishi is the only candidate that fits the bill and I am proud to support him, she writes in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. I have backed Boris from the start. From running alongside him in London in 2012, to supporting him to be our leader in 2019 and willing him to succ

Why the British public is not choosing its new leader to replace Truss

Observers of Britain's governing structure can be forgiven for scratching their heads in recent weeks as they watch the country reel through a succession of prime ministers without holding an election. While the opposition Labour Party is demanding an election, the governing conservatives are pushing on with choosing another prime minister from within their own ranks, which they have the right to do because of the way Britain's parliamentary democracy works. BRITONS NEVER ACTUALLY VOTE FOR THEIR PRIME MINISTER Britain is divided into 650 local constituencies, and people tick a box for the representative they want to become their local member of parliament, or MP. In most cases, this will be a member of one of the country's major political parties. The party that wins the majority of seats gets to form a government, and that party's leader automatically becomes prime minister. While coalitions are possible, Britain's voting system favors the two largest parties and in most cases a ..

Sunak has hit 100 MPs mark for UK PM race to replace Liz, supporters say

Rishi Sunak's supporters claimed on Saturday that the Indian-origin former chancellor has hit the threshold of 100 members of Parliament required to make it to the shortlist for the race to replace Liz Truss as Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister. The 42-year-old frontrunner's tally continues to grow as former prime minister Boris Johnson flies back from his Caribbean holiday to reportedly also join the contest. Neither Sunak nor Johnson have officially declared their intention to contest the leadership election, with Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt the only candidate to formally announce her candidacy so far. However, the former finance minister has taken a comfortable lead with some heavyweight Tory ministers and MPs from different factions of the Tory party throwing their weight behind him and the betting odds also continuing to rise in favour. "Rishi had the right plan in the summer and I think it is the right plan now," former deputy prime minister Domini

Rishi Sunak leads MP support, over halfway to threshold: Report

British minister Penny Mordaunt on Friday launched her bid to replace Liz Truss as prime minister, becoming the first Conservative lawmaker to announce they are running.

Here's why Liz Truss' tenure was so short as UK PM; and what's next

British Prime Minister Liz Truss took office last month with hopes and promises of reinvigorating the British economy and putting it on the path to long-term success. It didn't go to plan. Instead, Truss' tenure was scarred by turmoil as her economic policies threatened the country's financial stability, driving the pound to record lows, sparking chaos on bond markets and increasing mortgage costs for millions of people. Though Truss took office amid a cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, her decision to announce 105 billion pounds ($116 billion) of tax cuts and spending increases without providing details on how she would pay for it unnerved investors, who warned of soaring public debt. That undermined confidence in the government's ability to pay its bills and raised questions about the economic credentials of a new prime minister who took office after a deeply divisive contest for leadership of the governing Conservative .

Liz Truss quits as UK Prime Minister after 45 days in office

Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader

Nominations open for new UK PM to replace Liz Truss; cut-off set at 100 MPs

The nominations for Conservative Party members planning to contest in the leadership election to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader and British Prime Minister officially opened on Thursday evening, with a high threshold of 100 members of Parliament set for the final shortlist. Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Backbench Committee in charge of Tory elections, said that potential candidates are expected to file their nominations by 2 pm local time on Monday for a final two contestants to be shortlisted. Unless there is parliamentary consensus struck around a single candidate, the final two will be put up for an expedited online voting process before the wider Tory party membership to be concluded by October 28. It [100 MPs] should be achievable by any serious candidate, who has a realistic prospect of going through," said Brady, as he confirmed the likelihood of three possible candidates emerging, given the 357 Tory MPs in the House of Commons. "It is up to the Members of Parliament whet

UK's third female PM Liz Truss leaves office without India trade deal prize

Britain's third female Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is out of office on Thursday after one of the shortest tenures at 10 Downing Street in London and without a cherished India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) under her belt as a Brexit prize. Truss, who until Wednesday insisted in Parliament that she was a "fighter and not a quitter", resigned after just six weeks after her position became untenable after a series of policy U-turns, Cabinet upheavals and an open revolt against her ability to lead a deeply divided Conservative Party. Truss, who in her innings as foreign and trade minister batted for stronger bilateral ties with India, took charge at 10 Downing Street last month after defeating Indian-origin ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race. The 47-year-old was faced with one of the toughest in-trays in the top job as a result of the spiralling cost-of-living crisis in the country, which rivalled any of the issues faced by her women predecessors in office

'I am a fighter, not a quitter', says Truss to an angry Parliament

PM commits to pension spending; no comment on benefits, foreign aid

UK PM Liz Truss faces test in Parliament over economic plan, seeks lifeline

British Prime Minister Liz Truss faces a House of Commons grilling Wednesday from a hostile opposition and her own furious Conservative Party as she tries to fend off calls to quit over her botched economic plan. Truss is set to attend the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session two days after newly appointed Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt ripped up the tax-cutting package unveiled by the prime minister's new government less than a month ago. The package of unfunded tax cuts announced Sept. 23 sparked turmoil on financial markets, hammered the value of the pound and increased the cost of U.K. government borrowing. The Bank of England was forced to intervene to prevent the crisis spreading to the wider economy and putting pensions at risk. Under intense political and economic pressure, Truss last week fired her ally Kwasi Kwarteng as Treasury chief, replacing him with Cabinet veteran Hunt. On Monday Hunt scrapped almost all of Truss' tax cuts, along with her flagship energy policy an

British PM Liz Truss vows to carry on as her party support dwindles

After weeks of blaming 'global headwinds', Truss on Monday said she was sorry for going 'too far and too fast' with her radical economic plan to snap Britain out of years of tepid growth

UK PM 'sorry' for economic 'mistakes' but embattled Truss vows to stay on

UK PM Liz Truss apologised for going "too far too fast" with reforms that caused investor confidence to evaporate and her poll ratings to plunge

UK's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt reverses all of Liz Truss' tax cuts

Britain's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on Monday reversed entirely all of British Prime Minister Liz Truss' tax cuts and scaled back the expensive energy bills support in an emergency fiscal statement. Hunt's statement is an attempt to reassure the markets about the country's fiscal sustainability and calm the shockwaves of his predecessor's mini-budget last month. The finance minister said a 1 pence cut to income tax will be delayed "indefinitely" until the UK's finances improve, instead of being introduced in April 2023 as announced in predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget. The government's energy price guarantee will only be universal until April and not for two years as originally planned. The government has today decided to make further changes to the mini-budget, and to reduce unhelpful speculation about what they are, we've decided to announce these ahead of the medium-term fiscal plan, which happens in two weeks," Hunt said in a statement. After meeting

Bookie odds favour Rishi Sunak comeback amid turbulence for UK PM Liz Truss

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, just over a month into the job, is already seen as increasingly unlikely to ride out the turbulence within her own Conservative Party and the financial markets, with her former leadership rival Rishi Sunak the odds-on favourite to make a comeback for 10 Downing Street. At the end of a tumultuous week in British politics which saw Truss sack her close friend and trusted aide Kwasi Kwarteng who was enforcing her own economic policies as Chancellor, the mutinous voices within the governing Conservatives continue to flag how Sunak had warned against much of the financial meltdown that would follow his rival's unfunded tax-cutting policies. The former British Indian Chancellor adopted a silent approach as he hosted two pre-scheduled parties at a central London hotel this week to thank his Ready for Rishi leadership campaign team and officials at the UK Treasury. His approach is one part I told you so' but rather more a sense of sadness. He just says: It

India-UK free trade deal stuck on free access to skilled workers

Any failure to conclude a trade accord with Britain will be a missed opportunity for India, a nation upon which many economies are pinning their hopes amid intensified geopolitical struggles

UK PM Liz Truss fires trade minister Conor Burns over alleged misconduct

A British trade minister was fired by Prime Minister Liz Truss and suspended by the Conservative Party on Friday over allegations of misconduct. The government said Truss had asked Conor Burns to leave the government with immediate effect after a complaint of serious misconduct. The prime minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour as the public rightly expects, the prime minister's office said. The Conservative whips' office said Burns had been suspended from the party's group in Parliament pending investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour earlier this week. He remains a lawmaker but will sit as an independent. British media reported that the alleged misconduct took place at the Conservatives' annual conference in the central England city of Birmingham. Burns is a long-time ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to step down in July. Johnson

Cutting taxes the right thing to do, both morally and economically: UK PM

''Will make difficult but necessary choices for economic growth''