The Conservative Party lawmaker and ex-finance minister who came in second to outgoing UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in his bid to hold the nation’s top job two months ago confirmed Sunday that he was standing to replace her.
Rishi Sunak, 42, had correctly warned that Truss’ plans to slash taxes on wealthy Britons would result in fiscal chaos.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer quit disgraced Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in July, helping to trigger a mass rebellion that prompted his resignation days later.
Sunak vied to become leader of the party, but lost to Truss in an internal election process that took a month and a half.
Truss, 47, stepped down from office after a tumultuous six week reign that was marred by plummeting financial markets, a severely devalued pound and political turmoil.
Her resignation from her historically brief stint at 10 Downing Street Thursday set a much quicker election process into motion.
Sunak and other candidates have until Monday afternoon to gather the support of at least 100 Conservative Parliament Members out of the caucus’ 357 lawmakers.
If only one candidate receives the required support on Monday, they would become the new prime minister. If multiple candidates reach the threshold, an “expedited” online vote for the top two candidates would be held amongst the UK’s 172,000 Conservative Party members.
A result was expected by Oct. 28 at the latest. The winner would then meet King Charles III to be formally appointed.
“The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis,” Sunak wrote on Twitter.
“That’s why I am standing to be leader of the Conservative Party and your next prime minister.”
Sunak is considered to be the frontrunner in the race, ahead of former defense minister Penny Mordaunt and Johnson, who is vying for his old job back in a return foray into politics.
If elected, the second generation Brit would be the first British prime minister of Indian descent.
With Post wires