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Rishi Sunak officially joins race to be Britain's prime minister

Sunday, 23 October 2022 11:26 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 23 October 2022 11:31 AM ]

Rishi Sunak is close to securing the 100 nominations he needs to run for the next Conservative Party leader and prime minister. (File Photo)

Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak has announced his bid to replace Liz Truss as the next leader of the Conservative Party.

"The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis," Sunak tweeted confirming his widely-expected candidacy. "I want to fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country."

Sunak, 42, is so far the only formally declared candidate to have collected the 100 nominations from fellow lawmakers required by 2 p.m. Monday to appear on the party’s ballot.

It is the second time in less than four months that he has vied for the role.

Meanwhile, Sunak’s strongest opponent and former PM Boris Johnson has not yet officially declared his candidacy, but Northern Ireland's Secretary Chris Heaton Harris told Sky News that he will enter the race.

Johnson has received the support of dozens of Conservative lawmakers, but needs 100 nominations to be considered.

The former prime minister's resignation this July kicked off Britain’s current bout of political chaos. In his resignation as Johnson’s finance minister, which prompted a wave of others to resign and ultimately forced Johnson to step down, Sunak said the public deserved a government that conducted itself “properly, competently, and seriously.”

Junior minister Steve Baker said on Sunday he would vote for Sunak because the country could not afford a return to the soap-opera that built up earlier this year before Johnson was forced out of office over a string of scandals.

“This isn’t the time for Boris’s style,” Baker told Sky News. “I’m afraid the trouble is because of the privileges vote, Boris would be a guaranteed disaster.”

He also urged for a period of stability after Truss sparked turmoil in the finance markets, pointing towards not voting for Johnson.

“What we can’t do is have him in as prime minister in circumstances where he’s bound to implode, taking down the whole government with him,” he said.

Currently, Johnson is under investigation by parliament's Privileges Committee to establish whether he lied to the House of Commons over parties held at Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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