With a 2nd U.K. prime minister in weeks, demand grows for a general election. Watch the Full first speech of Rishi Sunak as the UK's Prime Minister.

U.K Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Here is the latest on Britain’s new government. In Sunak’s top cabinet ministers, an emphasis on continuity. Some Britons fear Sunak is too rich to understand working-class suffering. The Sunak government is set to lay out its economic plan in six days. With a 2nd U.K. prime minister in weeks, demand grows for a general election.  

 

Watch the Full first speech of Rishi Sunak as the UK's Prime Minister.

 

 

Good morning, I have just been to Buckingham Palace and accepted His Majesty the King’s invitation to form a government in his name. It is only right to explain why I am standing here as your new prime minister. Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of Covid still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains the world over. I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Liz Truss. She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country — it is a noble aim — and I admired her restlessness to create change. But some mistakes were made — not borne of ill will or bad intentions, quite the opposite, in fact — but mistakes nonetheless. And I have been elected as leader of my party, and your prime minister, in part, to fix them. And that work begins immediately.  I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come. But you saw me during Covid, doing everything I could, to protect people and businesses, with schemes like furlough. There are always limits, more so now than ever, but I promise you this: I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.  The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves. I will unite our country, not with words, but with action. I will work day in and day out to deliver for you. This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. Trust is earned. And I will earn yours.  I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as prime minister, and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit. And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual, it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us. And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto. I will deliver on its promise: a stronger N.H.S., better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, leveling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate and create jobs. I understand how difficult this moment is. After the billions of pounds it cost us to combat Covid, after all the dislocation that caused in the midst of a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions, I fully appreciate how hard things are. And I understand, too, that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened. All I can say is that I am not daunted. I know the high office I have accepted, and I hope to live up to its demands. But when the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness. So I stand here before you ready to lead our country into the future, to put your needs above politics, to reach out and build a government that represents the very best traditions of my party. Together we can achieve incredible things. We will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made and fill tomorrow, and everyday thereafter with hope. Thank you.  

 

Rishi Sunak born on 12 May 1980 is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020. He has been a member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015. 

 

As Chancellor, Sunak was pushing ahead with a new law that would pave the way for stablecoins to be used for everyday payments, despite fears from the Bank of England about the financial stability of the technology. In April 2022, Sunak ordered the Royal Mint to create a UK government-backed non-fungible token (NFT) to be issued by the summer of 2022.

 

Sunak was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King Charles III on 25 October 2022, making him the first British Asian prime minister, as well as the first Hindu prime minister.  Sunak is also the richest person to hold the office.

 

Sunak is a Hindu and took his oath as an MP at the House of Commons on the Bhagavad Gita. In August 2009, he married Akshata Murty, the daughter of the Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, the founder of the technology company Infosys. Murty owns a 0.91% stake—valued at about $900m (£746m) in April 2022—in Infosys, making her one of the wealthiest women in Britain.

Sunak and Murty met while studying at Stanford University; they have two daughters.  Murty is a director of her father's investment firm, Catamaran Ventures. They own Kirby Sigston Manor in the village of Kirby Sigston, North Yorkshire, as well as a mews house in Earl's Court in central London, a flat on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, and a penthouse apartment on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, California.  He was previously a governor of the East London Science School.  Sunak has a Labrador called Nova and is a cricket, tennis, and horse, racing enthusiast.

 

Rishi Sunak is the first person of color and the first Hindu to become prime minister of Britain — a milestone for a nation that is more and more ethnically diverse but also roiled by occasional anti-immigrant fervor. Economic Challenges: Sunak already has experience steering Britain’s public finances as chancellor of the Exchequer. That won’t make tackling the current crisis any easier. 

 

The rise and fall of Liz Truss offers some lessons. Lifelong Allowance: As a former prime minister, Ms. Truss is eligible for a taxpayer-funded annual payout for the rest of her life. Some say she shouldn’t be allowed to receive it.  What do you think?