Rishi Sunak was today installed as prime minister, with a promise to restore economic stability and regain trust after the “mistakes” of Liz Truss’s brief time in office.
The new PM acknowledged that the UK is facing a “profound economic crisis”.
And he warned that there are “difficult decisions to come”, in a clear signal that tax rises and spending cuts are on their way in chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s medium-term fiscal plan, due to be delivered next Monday.
Mr Hunt needs to find up to £40bn to fill massive holes in the national finances created in part by the mini-Budget produced by Ms Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng last month.
The new PM promised to govern with “compassion”.
But he made clear he is ready to impose austerity measures to get the books into balance, declaring: “The government I lead will not leave the next generation – your children and grandchildren -with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves.”
He sought to shrug off growing demands for an early general election after two changes of prime minister in less than two months, insisting that he held a mandate from predecessor Boris Johnson’s victory at the ballot box in 2019.
Mr Sunak is the first PM of Indian origin, the youngest for more than 200 years, at just 42, and possibly the richest person ever to hold the office, with an estimated family fortune of more than £700m.
He was invited to form a government by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace this morning just moments after the monarch accepted the resignation of Liz Truss, in a ceremony known as “kissing hands”.
Following the financial chaos of recent weeks, Mr Sunak vowed that “economic stability and confidence” will be at the heart of his government’s agenda.
His administration’s watchword will be “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”, he said.
An unrepentant Truss left office after just 49 days – the shortest tenure in UK political history – with a message of support for her successor but also a call for him not to abandon her agenda of cutting taxes to fuel growth.
In a five-minute speech outside the door to 10 Downing Street, Mr Sunak paid tribute to his predecessor for her “noble aim” of seeking to improve growth and her “restlessness to create change”.
But he did what she could never bring herself to do, by adding: “Some mistakes were made … and I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister in part to fix them”.
In an olive branch to the right of the party who accuse him of stabbing Boris Johnson in the back by quitting as chancellor in July, Mr Sunak said he was grateful for the former PM’s “incredible achievements” and treasured his “warmth and generosity of spirit”.
Mr Johnson responded with a tweet: “Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on this historic day. This is the moment for every Conservative to give our new PM their full and wholehearted support.”
Apparently seeking to see off demands for an early general election, Mr Sunak claimed a mandate from the 2019 general election manifesto, which he said was not the property of Mr Johnson alone but of the Conservative government.
He promised to deliver on its pledges of ”stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs.”
Acknowledging the mood of national uncertainty due to the rising cost of living and war in Ukraine, he said: “I fully appreciate how hard things are. And I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened.
“All I can say is that I am not daunted.”
Mr Sunak is now expected to appoint a cabinet bringing together representatives of all wings of a deeply fractured Conservative Party.
He is expected to reward supporters like Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps, as well as up-and-coming figures from the right of the party like Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman. And leadership rival Penny Mordaunt can expect a senior job after paving the way for a Sunak coronation by dropping out at the last minute on Monday.
But all eyes will be on whether Mr Sunak sacks right-wing totem Jacob Rees-Mogg and removes from his cabinet close Truss ally Therese Coffey, installed as deputy prime minister less than two months ago, and ministers like James Cleverly and Nadhim Zahawi who backed Boris Johnson for leader.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Rishi Sunak’s refusal to call a general election shows the Conservative Party does not trust the British people. The public will be rightly furious that they have been denied a say, while Conservative MPs get to decide who runs our country.
“We didn’t hear any details from Rishi Sunak on his plans to fix the damage to our economy and the NHS caused by years of Conservative chaos and incompetence.
“Sunak must confirm that benefits and pensions will be up-rated in line with inflation and that there will be no spending cuts to our crucial public services. It’s the very least he can do to reassure struggling families and pensioners worried sick about the winter ahead.
“It can’t be right that the public is kept in the dark while the prime minister makes promises and dishes out cabinet posts to Conservative colleagues behind closed doors.”
