28 October 2022
Sunak becomes new Prime Minister

They say a week is a long time in politics, but the last week has been a rollercoaster. Last Thursday, Liz Truss announced her resignation as Prime Minister as it became evident that she could no longer command the support of Conservative MPs following a volatile period since she became Prime Minister.

While her policy direction had broad appeal to Conservative Party members, the speed with which she wished to act led to adverse reactions in financial markets, which with hindsight demonstrated that the mini-budget went too far, too fast.

The need to restore market confidence became a political necessity during such a challenging time for the country, which is why it was critical that the leadership contest was conducted as quickly as possible.

Having declared my support for Rishi Sunak both this summer and last Friday, I was pleased to see him elected swiftly on Monday as Leader of the Conservative Party and our Prime Minister.

Rishi was the best candidate with the experience, skill and aptitude to lead the country through the international crises, the cost-of-living crisis, restore market confidence and take the difficult decisions to meet these challenges decisively, while commanding support across the Conservative parliamentary party.

I am confident that Rishi will be backed by MPs to deliver his programme in Parliament and has already swiftly built a team of talented, experienced Ministers to serve in his government. He is best placed to rebuild trust in the Conservative Party and deliver our ambition to make our country a fairer and better place to live.

As a party and a country, we can’t go backwards, we have to move forward. With a clear majority in Parliament, there is a huge opportunity to deliver on the public’s priorities: from helping fund energy costs and tackling inflation, to making it easier for people to afford their own home and improving both our economic prospects and the environment in which we live.

With a responsible approach to balancing the public finances, a Rishi Sunak led Conservative Party will focus on delivering the 2019 manifesto, while recognising that the tumultuous events which have occurred since, notably the impact of the pandemic and now war in Europe, will impact on the pace of what can be delivered.

With strong leadership under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, committed to “integrity, professionalism and accountability”, I am confident that we shall swiftly return to providing the country with the stability and decisive sound judgement the public deserve.