Page 4 - British Prime Minister

Will build a Britain where our children can light diyas: PM Sunak

Extending Diwali greetings to everyone, Britain's newly-appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed that he will do everything to build a Britain where children and grandchildren can light their Diyas and look to the future with hope. Sunak, 42, attended a Diwali reception at 10 Downing Street here on Wednesday night, a day after making history by becoming Britain's first Prime Minister of Indian origin. "Brilliant to drop into tonight's Diwali reception in No10. I will do everything I can in this job to build a Britain where our children and our grandchildren can light their Diyas and look to the future with hope," he said in a tweet with a picture of himself attending the Diwali reception at his official residence. Sunak, Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister, took office on Tuesday with a pledge to fix the "mistakes" his predecessor Liz Truss made which left a blackhole in government finances and the markets in turmoil. He became the new UK prime minister after meeting

UK PM Sunak warns of 'very difficult decisions' to tackle economic crisis

Britain's newly-appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday warned that his government will have to take some "very difficult decisions" but assured the people that he would also act with compassion while tackling the country's "profound economic crisis." Sunak, Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister, took office on Tuesday with a pledge to fix the "mistakes" his predecessor Liz Truss made which left a blackhole in government finances and the markets in turmoil. Sunak, the third prime minister in seven weeks, opened the Cabinet meeting by saying that "economic stability and fiscal sustainability would be at the heart" of his government's mission, according to a read-out from his first cabinet meeting. "This morning I set out to Cabinet the enormous task we face, and why I am confident that this government can rise to the challenge and deliver for the whole United Kingdom," Sunak tweeted. "Now is the time to get to work and earn the trust of the British people," he wrote

Best of BS Opinion: Prime Minister Sunak, down to the wire, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

New UK PM Rishi Sunak says that he will unite Britain with action

"I have been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minister in part to fix them." He added: "This will mean difficult decisions to come"

Rishi Sunak to be UK's first Indian-origin PM as his rivals quit the race

Youngest to the post in 200 years + Warns UK faces 'profound economic challenge' + FTSE 100 rises .6%

Karnataka CM Bommai congratulates UK's Indian-origin PM-elect Rishi Sunak

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday expressed his happiness over Rishi Sunak, a person of Indian origin set to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Talking to reporters in Shiggaon, Bommai said the British ruled India for over 200 years and they would have never expected such a big development. Today, Indians are on all fronts and have got elected as MPs in several countries. Now, Rishi Sunak has got elected as the new Britain PM. The wheel of fortune has turned completely, he opined. In a series of tweets, former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy too congratulated Sunak, who is set to become the UK prime minister. "Hearty congratulations to Sri @RishiSunak, senior Conservative party leader & Britain's Prime Minister elect. He is connected to our Karnataka. I am overwhelmed with the election of Sri Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys founder Sri N R Narayanamurthy & Smt Sudha Murty," Kumaraswamy tweeted. "I am confident that Sri Rishi Sunak ...

Proud moment that UK will have Indian-origin PM, says Mehbooba Mufti

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said it was a proud moment that Indian-origin Rishi Sunak was elected as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said while India rightly celebrates Sunak's elevation, it should also serve as a reminder that the Britain has accepted an ethnic minority member as its premier but we are still shackled by divisive and discriminatory laws like NRC and CAA." National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who has a British mother, did not comment on the development but retweeted a tweet by George Osborne, the former chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK. "Rishi Sunak will be Prime Minister by the end of the day. Some think, like me, he's a solution to our problems; others think he's part of the problem. But whatever your politics, let's all celebrate the first British Asian becoming PM and be proud of our country where this can happen," Osborne said.

British Prime Minister-elect Rishi Sunak promises 'stability and unity'

Indian-origin Rishi Sunak, who will take over as Britain's prime minister from Liz Truss, on Monday promised stability and unity as his priority. The former chancellor, who won Tory leadership contest on Monday, is poised to walk through the door of 10 Downing Street in London after an audience with King Charles III in Buckingham Palace, which is likely to be on Tuesday. Besides being the first Hindu Prime Minister of Indian heritage, Sunak is also the youngest for around 200 years at 42 years. In his first address as Tory leader soon after the result was declared, Sunak said his priority would be to bring the country together and said he was "humbled and honoured" to get the greatest privilege of his life to give back to the country I owe so much. "The UK is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge," said Sunak from the Conservative Party headquarters near Parliament in London. "We now need stability and unity and I will make it my utmost priori

Rishi Sunak to become the next UK PM: Let's understand his India connection

With Boris Johnson's party gate scandal and Liz Truss's tax cuts debacle, Sunak is the third prime minister in the last seven months

Indian-origin Rishi Sunak to become Britain's next prime minister

Sunak will replace Liz Truss, who served as Britain's shortest-serving prime minister

Johnson loyalist Priti Patel comes out in support of Rishi Sunak as UK PM

Priti Patel, a loyalist of former British prime minister Boris Johnson, on Monday came out in support of Rishi Sunak to take over at 10 Downing Street as the Conservative Party leader after her former boss withdrew from the leadership contest. The Indian-origin former home secretary, who resigned from the Cabinet when Liz Truss was elected the Prime Minister last month, said the Tories must put political differences aside to give Sunak the best chance of succeeding as the new leader. Her intervention came as the former chancellor looks well poised as the frontrunner to make history as the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the UK, with publicly voiced support for Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt still well short of the 100-MPs threshold. In these difficult times for our country we must unite by putting public service first and work together, tweeted Patel. We care about our country and with the enormous challenges upon us we must put political differences aside to give Rishi

Rishi Sunak closer to victory as Boris Johnson pulls out of UK PM race

In a surprise move, former British PM Boris Johnson on Sunday announced that he will not be contesting the Conservative Party leadership race, with frontrunner Rishi Sunak moving a step closer to be elected Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister. The 55-year-old former leader claimed he had crossed the 100-MPs threshold but decided not to go forward in the interest of Tory party's unity. In a statement, Johnson who resigned in July in the wake of the partygate' scandal of COVID-19 lockdown law-breaking parties said he had "cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations", but came to the conclusion that "this is simply not the right time". I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds, Johnson said. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.. And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny because I hoped that we could come together in the national ..

Suella Braverman supports Rishi Sunak as 'unity' candidate for UK PM

Britain's recently-resigned Home Secretary Indian-origin Suella Braverman on Sunday came out in support of Rishi Sunak to replace outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss as the candidate who can provide unity, stability and efficiency to the governing Conservatives. In a boost to frontrunner Sunak and a blow to former prime minister Boris Johnson's expected bid for Tory leadership, the former minister with significant support on the extreme right of Tory party said Johnson was no longer the best choice for the party or the country. Her intervention comes just days after her dramatic exit from Cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code and a scathing attack on Truss' leadership. We need unity, stability and efficiency. Rishi is the only candidate that fits the bill and I am proud to support him, she writes in The Daily Telegraph newspaper. I have backed Boris from the start. From running alongside him in London in 2012, to supporting him to be our leader in 2019 and willing him to succ

Why the British public is not choosing its new leader to replace Truss

Observers of Britain's governing structure can be forgiven for scratching their heads in recent weeks as they watch the country reel through a succession of prime ministers without holding an election. While the opposition Labour Party is demanding an election, the governing conservatives are pushing on with choosing another prime minister from within their own ranks, which they have the right to do because of the way Britain's parliamentary democracy works. BRITONS NEVER ACTUALLY VOTE FOR THEIR PRIME MINISTER Britain is divided into 650 local constituencies, and people tick a box for the representative they want to become their local member of parliament, or MP. In most cases, this will be a member of one of the country's major political parties. The party that wins the majority of seats gets to form a government, and that party's leader automatically becomes prime minister. While coalitions are possible, Britain's voting system favors the two largest parties and in most cases a ..

Sunak has hit 100 MPs mark for UK PM race to replace Liz, supporters say

Rishi Sunak's supporters claimed on Saturday that the Indian-origin former chancellor has hit the threshold of 100 members of Parliament required to make it to the shortlist for the race to replace Liz Truss as Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister. The 42-year-old frontrunner's tally continues to grow as former prime minister Boris Johnson flies back from his Caribbean holiday to reportedly also join the contest. Neither Sunak nor Johnson have officially declared their intention to contest the leadership election, with Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt the only candidate to formally announce her candidacy so far. However, the former finance minister has taken a comfortable lead with some heavyweight Tory ministers and MPs from different factions of the Tory party throwing their weight behind him and the betting odds also continuing to rise in favour. "Rishi had the right plan in the summer and I think it is the right plan now," former deputy prime minister Domini

Rishi Sunak leads MP support, over halfway to threshold: Report

British minister Penny Mordaunt on Friday launched her bid to replace Liz Truss as prime minister, becoming the first Conservative lawmaker to announce they are running.

Here's why Liz Truss' tenure was so short as UK PM; and what's next

British Prime Minister Liz Truss took office last month with hopes and promises of reinvigorating the British economy and putting it on the path to long-term success. It didn't go to plan. Instead, Truss' tenure was scarred by turmoil as her economic policies threatened the country's financial stability, driving the pound to record lows, sparking chaos on bond markets and increasing mortgage costs for millions of people. Though Truss took office amid a cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, her decision to announce 105 billion pounds ($116 billion) of tax cuts and spending increases without providing details on how she would pay for it unnerved investors, who warned of soaring public debt. That undermined confidence in the government's ability to pay its bills and raised questions about the economic credentials of a new prime minister who took office after a deeply divisive contest for leadership of the governing Conservative .

Liz Truss quits as UK Prime Minister after 45 days in office

Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader

Nominations open for new UK PM to replace Liz Truss; cut-off set at 100 MPs

The nominations for Conservative Party members planning to contest in the leadership election to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader and British Prime Minister officially opened on Thursday evening, with a high threshold of 100 members of Parliament set for the final shortlist. Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Backbench Committee in charge of Tory elections, said that potential candidates are expected to file their nominations by 2 pm local time on Monday for a final two contestants to be shortlisted. Unless there is parliamentary consensus struck around a single candidate, the final two will be put up for an expedited online voting process before the wider Tory party membership to be concluded by October 28. It [100 MPs] should be achievable by any serious candidate, who has a realistic prospect of going through," said Brady, as he confirmed the likelihood of three possible candidates emerging, given the 357 Tory MPs in the House of Commons. "It is up to the Members of Parliament whet

UK's third female PM Liz Truss leaves office without India trade deal prize

Britain's third female Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is out of office on Thursday after one of the shortest tenures at 10 Downing Street in London and without a cherished India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) under her belt as a Brexit prize. Truss, who until Wednesday insisted in Parliament that she was a "fighter and not a quitter", resigned after just six weeks after her position became untenable after a series of policy U-turns, Cabinet upheavals and an open revolt against her ability to lead a deeply divided Conservative Party. Truss, who in her innings as foreign and trade minister batted for stronger bilateral ties with India, took charge at 10 Downing Street last month after defeating Indian-origin ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race. The 47-year-old was faced with one of the toughest in-trays in the top job as a result of the spiralling cost-of-living crisis in the country, which rivalled any of the issues faced by her women predecessors in office