Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak has formally entered the race to become Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister, promising to fix the economy and unite the Tory Party.
Sunak, who lost to Prime Minister Liz Truss in the last Tory leadership contest just six weeks ago, is making a renewed bid for the top job following Truss’s resignation on Oct. 20.
He became the second candidate to enter the race after Penny Mordaunt. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not yet announced his bid, though his ally Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Jacob Rees-Mogg said he is “clearly” going to stand.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Oct. 23, Sunak wrote, “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.”
He said he is standing again because he wants to “fix our economy, unite our party, and deliver for our country.”
Sunak wrote: “I served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times. The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities—if we make the right choice—are phenomenal.”
‘Integrity’ and ‘Professionalism’
Sunak stressed that he would lead with “integrity, professionalism, and accountability,” in an apparent attempt to contrast himself with the past two prime ministers, both of whom exited 10 Downing Street in disgrace.Truss had no choice but to step down after her entire economic programme, based on massive unfunded tax cuts, was scrapped following negative reactions from the financial markets, which saw the pound fall sharply against the U.S. dollar and borrowing costs rise significantly for both the government and British households.
Truss’s economic woes had been largely predicted by Sunak in the last leadership campaign, during which he called her economic vision “comforting fairy tales” and said her promise of unfunded tax cuts at a time of worsening inflation was irresponsible, dangerous, and un-conservative. Sunak predicted that the tax cuts would lead to surging mortgage rates—a prediction that was later confirmed by the markets.
Johnson was forced to step down as prime minister after the resignation of more than 50 government ministers, following a string of scandals, including getting fined by police for attending illegal gatherings at 10 Downing Street during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Sunak’s resignation as chancellor was believed to have been instrumental in triggering the unravelling of Johnson’s government.
But Sunak’s own integrity isn’t untarnished. His reputation was sullied earlier this year following disclosures that his wife, Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of an Indian billionaire, had a nondomiciled status for tax purposes.
He was also implicated in the “Partygate” scandal and was fined, along with Johnson and his wife, Carrie, by the Metropolitan Police for attending the prime minister’s birthday party, which was held in violation of lockdown regulations.
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