Rishi Sunak moves a step closer to become next UK PM

London: Rishi Sunak on Sunday confirmed that he will compete to be United Kingdom's next Prime Minister to replace Liz Truss.

Sunak announced on Twitter that he wanted to fix the economic crisis and deliver for the country.

Britain's former finance minister Sunak was defeated by Truss in September after losing an election which was held by members of the Conservative party across the nation.

Amid the economic and political crisis, Truss announced on October 20 to resign as prime minister. So far, she will be the shortest-serving prime minister of the United Kingdom with a tenure of just 45 days.

In a surprise move, former British prime minister Boris Johnson announced that he will not run for the post of UK's Prime Minister, despite having been overwhelmed with calls for him to join the race. In a statement



last night, Mr Johnson said, he is standing aside in the interest of the unity of the party, despite being well-positioned to deliver another Conservative victory in the 2024 general election. As a result of Johnson's decision, Rishi Sunak has moved one step closer to becoming Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister.

Johnson had the public support of around 59 Tory MPs, including some high-profile cabinet members. Now it remains to be seen how that support will be divided between Rishi Sunak, who has around 144 supporters, and Penny Mordaunt, who has around 23 declared supporters.

It is now almost certain that a two-member shortlist will be drawn up by 2 pm local time today. In the event that party MPs unite behind a single candidate, most likely Sunak, he will become Tory leader and prime minister by this evening.