Rishi Sunak is to be officially sworn in as UK’s Prime Minister today
Rishi Sunak will be officially sworn in as Britain’s new Prime Minister on 13 February, BBC reported. The 39-year-old former chief secretary to the Treasury is the first Indian-origin minister to hold the top office in the UK. He has been a prominent face of the ruling Conservative Party since Johnson took over as party leader in July 2019.
Sunak secured his MP status from Richmond after winning the December 2019 poll with a majority of 22,013 votes and a 51% vote share. He was elected to replace former foreign secretary and current London mayor Boris Johnson following his election as party leader in late 2015. His father Nandkishore Sunak was an entrepreneur who represented India at UNESCO and ICWA(Institute of Chartered Accountants of India).
Rishi Sunak was educated at Winchester College and the University of Exeter. He has advised Johnson on economic policies since the new PM took over in July last year, having previously served as chief secretary to the Treasury under former PM Theresa May.
He was recognized by Forbes magazine in 2016 as one of their ’30 Under 30′ top achievers in Europe for his work with online startup lender Neyber, which helps employees pay off loans through salary deductions. In 2017 he married Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. The couple has two young daughters. (Credit: BBC)
Timings of the event: 25 October 2022
Location of event: Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom.
Participants: All members of the parliament and all ministers.
Rishi Sunak will address the country as Prime Minister from 10 Downing Street after meeting King Charles III today. Follow live updates here
9:21 pm IST Blistering attack on Jeremy Corbyn in a speech to Conservative Party Members of Parliament (MP)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the victory speech at 10 Downing Street. – Getty Images
Sunak criticized Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Brexit and charged that the British opposition parties would not be able to deliver a better Brexit deal than the one secured by Johnson last year. He said, “For so long we were told that no-deal was a disaster for Britain. We have been led to believe that it is something that should be feared but I tell you today: no-deal will be more popular than ever.”
“I am here tonight because of what he has done for our great country and I want to thank him for making me the Prime Minister of this great country,” he said in an emotional farewell speech to his predecessor.
“What a privilege it is to be able to serve at this special time in our nation’s history, with a leader we can be proud of and a vision for the future of our country that will bring hope and prosperity.”
8: 53 pm IST Rishi Sunak enters Buckingham Palace after being elected as Britain’s new prime minister by MPs
Rishi Sunak, 39, entered Buckingham Palace after securing backing from the party’s 315 lawmakers in the second round of voting on Wednesday. During the last rounds of voting, he secured 77 votes while Jeremy Hunt got 43 votes. The Prime Minister is responsible for selecting cabinet ministers and allocating jobs to the most talented members of his party, according to Reuters.
8: 47 pm IST Conservative Party MPs endorse Rishi Sunak as the new British prime minister
Conservative Party Members of Parliament (MP) voted in favor of Boris Johnson’s successor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, with 77 backing him against 43 who supported Jeremy Hunt. He will be formally appointed as Britain’s new prime minister after meeting King Charles III later in the evening at Buckingham Palace in London.
The vote came just hours after he was named finance chief by outgoing PM Johnson following his departure from Downing Street earlier today, reports said. Sunak defeated former foreign secretary and current London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the race to become Britain’s new prime minister. Sunak was born in Southampton and studied economics at Exeter University before going on to work as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, according to The Times of India.
He is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Indian co-founder and former chief executive of Infosys Narayana Murthy. In 2017, the couple had a baby girl named Agastya Sunak who was born via a surrogate mother in the United States after both girls were diagnosed with health problems shortly after birth.