Britain’s former finance minister Rishi Sunak has announced he is running to replace Boris Johnson, three days after he helped start the cascade of resignations that led to the prime minister’s downfall. Johnson announced on Thursday that he would resign as prime minister after a mass revolt in his Conservative Party, sparked by the latter in a series of scandals that had fatally undermined public confidence. Johnson’s impending departure has added political uncertainty to an already difficult mix of soaring inflation, slowing growth and industrial unrest, against a backdrop of war in Ukraine and the UK’s ongoing struggle to adjust to life after Brexit. “Someone has to hold on to this moment and make the right decisions. That’s why I’m the next leader of the Conservative Party and your prime minister,” Sunak said in a video posted on Twitter. I am the next leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister. Let’s restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country. #Ready4Rishi Subscribe 👉 pic.twitter.com/LldqjLRSgF — Ready For Rishi (@RishiSunak) July 8, 2022 “We face this moment with honesty and determination, or we tell ourselves comforting tales that may make us feel better now but will leave our children worse off tomorrow,” she said. Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday within minutes of each other, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Johnson’s decision to step down. The rules and timetable for the contest to replace Johnson are to be set next week by a party committee. Mr Sunak’s budget last year set the UK on course for its biggest tax burden since the 1950s, which critics said undermined his claim to favor lower taxes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunak oversaw about 400 billion pounds ($481 billion) of economic support, avoiding a big jump in unemployment but letting public borrowing rise to a record peacetime high amid a historic fall in GDP . Sunak’s popularity with conservative lawmakers later declined after he raised income taxes in April to fund higher spending on health and social care and announced plans to sharply increase corporate tax in 2023. Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat and Attorney General Suella Braverman also formally announced their candidacies. Former health and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who lost to Johnson in 2019, was “almost certain” to run again, a source close to Hunt told British media.
Johnson resists
Meanwhile, Johnson continued to resist demands that he resign immediately and hand over power to his deputy, Dominic Raab. Johnson’s spokesman said there was no question of Raab taking over. “The prime minister is acting according to the convention. He remains prime minister until a new party leader is in place and the government’s work will continue while that happens,” he told reporters. Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said the main opposition party was aiming to trigger a no-confidence vote in parliament if the Conservatives did not get rid of Johnson immediately. “He is a proven liar who has been overwhelmed by the mess and we can’t have another two months of this,” she said in an interview on BBC radio. “If they don’t, we will call a vote of no confidence because it is quite clear that he does not have the confidence of the House [of Commons] or the British public’.
