Rishi Shunak is one of the favorites to succeed the resigning prime minister at 10 Downing Street. On Tuesday, Sunak had announced his resignation, which contributed to the cascade of resignations that forced the downfall of Boris Johnson.
Who will succeed Boris Johnson? On Friday, July 8, his former Minister for the Economy, Rishi Sunak, was one of the first to position himself as his successor as head of the Conservative Party and, at least until next year’s general election, of the UK Government. He called his social media campaign “Ready4Rishi” (“Ready for Rishi”).
“I am running to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and its Prime Minister. Let’s restore confidence, rebuild the economy and reunite the country,” he said on Twitter. “My values are non-negotiable, patriotism, justice and hard work,” he added in a video in which he highlighted the importance of his family.
In addition to Sunak, former state attorney general Suella Braverman and Tom Tugendhat, a former soldier now chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee, have run so far.
An avalanche of departures
Rishi Sunak, 42, was one of the first to announce his resignation on Tuesday, along with his Health counterpart Sajid David.
Their resignations triggered a cascade of departures from members of the Executive, shortly after Boris Johnson publicly apologized for the appointment of Chris Pincher in his Government in February. Pincher resigned last week after being accused of sexually abusing two men.
The departures ended on Thursday with the resignation of the so far premiere Johnson, who was dropped by a large group of members of his government, fed up with the scandals and repeated lies that marked his two years and 349 days in power.
Also read: United Kingdom: Boris Johnson, the scandal machine
But the prime minister has not yet left Downing Street, stating that he will remain in office until his successor is appointed. This situation, which could last until the autumn, is worrying, since the country faces a record inflation of 9%, the worst of the G7 members, and an increase in social unrest, against the backdrop of the war from Ukraine.
Boris Johnson “is a proven liar drowning in corruption, we can’t go on like this for another two months,” Deputy Labor Opposition Leader Angela Rayner told the BBC on Friday, calling for the appointment of an interim prime minister. “If they don’t, we are very clear that we are going to present a motion of censure before the parliamentary recess” on July 22, she added.
How the succession will work
Johnson’s spokesman, however, ruled out the possibility of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab taking over as premiere interim. “The prime minister acts according to convention. He remains so until there is a new party leader and the work of the government will continue in the meantime,” he said.
Newly appointed Education Minister James Cleverly said the process of appointing a new Conservative leader would be carried out “professionally but quickly”. However, some elected representatives fear a chaotic summer.
Boris Johnson assured, after his resignation, that his hastily reconstituted government (twelve ministers and secretaries of state were appointed on Thursday and seven on Friday) would not try to apply new policies or make big changes. Big budget decisions will be left to his successor.
Details of the process to succeed him will be announced on Monday by the Conservative parliamentary group’s 1922 Committee. The appointment of the party’s new leader, who will become prime minister as the party has a majority in the House of Commons, is due before the party’s annual convention on October 2 in Birmingham.
What role did Sunak have as economy minister?
Last year’s Sunak budget put Britain on track for its heaviest tax squeeze since the 1950s, which critics say undermined his claim to favor tax cuts.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Sunak oversaw some 400 billion pounds ($481 billion) of economic aid, preventing a huge jump in unemployment but letting public borrowing rise to a peacetime record in the face of a fall. historical GDP.
Sunak’s popularity with Conservative lawmakers took a hit after he raised payroll taxes in April to finance more spending on health and welfare, and announced plans to sharply raise corporate income tax in 2023.
Sunak said in his resignation letter that it had become clear that his approach to the economy had been too different from Johnson’s as the two had tried to agree on the next steps for the country.
They also play against Sunak who was fined for parties in Downing Street during the pandemic, and a controversy over the tax arrangements of his wife, Akshata Murty, daughter of an Indian tycoon.
With Reuters, AFP and EFE
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