The Conversation (0)
Kate Plummer
Oct 24, 2022
Rishi Sunak becomes UK’s third prime minister this year
Indy
Rishi Sunak has won the latest Tory leadership election and so will become the next prime minister.
You know what they say, second time lucky...
Having lost out to Liz Truss just six weeks ago to replace Boris Johnson, the former chancellor has now become the only candidate to secure over 100 nominations from Tory MPs needed to find a replacement after Truss resigned, so the contest is over.
His challenger, Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the race, with her campaign team announcing she did not have enough nominations to stand against Sunak today.
There was even talk of Boris Johnson coming back at one point, but his return was quickly put to bed.
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So as Sunak makes his eventual way to Downing Street, here's how people are reacting:
\u201cTo the best of my knowledge Rishi Sunak will be the first Prime Minister who can magically change the colour of ring binders\u2026\nhttps://t.co/BZVOKqXBxk\u201d— Larry the Cat (@Larry the Cat) 1666617694
\u201cCongratulations @RishiSunak \n\nI couldn\u2019t be prouder of my friend today.\n\nHe\u2019s won the overwhelming support of the parliamentary party. There are huge challenges ahead, but I have every faith that with him at the helm, the country will succeed. #Ready4Rishi\u201d— Robert Jenrick (@Robert Jenrick) 1666616890
\u201cI don\u2019t see how we can have a 3rd new Prime Minister - & a policy programme that is miles away from the original manifesto - without going to the country. \nConservative MPs understandably won\u2019t want to and are legally not obliged to, but it will be morally unavoidable.\u201d— Zac Goldsmith (@Zac Goldsmith) 1666536219
\u201cReminder that our new Prime Minister is so rich and out of touch he doesn't even know how to use contactless payment.\n\nhttps://t.co/E0oTAkNl05\u201d— Jack Duncan \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Jack Duncan \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1666618026
\u201cJust under 2 weeks ago, Rishi Sunak was at a Bloomberg drinks party as a former Chancellor making small talk with Rachel Reeves. He\u2019s now the PM. Just incredible.\u201d— Dino Sofos (@Dino Sofos) 1666616905
\u201che's coming out swinging\u201d— Aidan James (@Aidan James) 1666617377
\u201cso Rishi Sunak is our new Prime Minister the first person to make it there from the multi billionaire community\u201d— dave \u2744\ufe0f \ud83e\udd55 \ud83e\uddfb (@dave \u2744\ufe0f \ud83e\udd55 \ud83e\uddfb) 1666616466
\u201cWhatever happens, Rishi Sunak offered himself for proper political interviews regularly over the years, including during the leadership election. Whatever your view on his answers, he showed up. If he\u2019s PM the expectation should be that this continues. It matters, as we\u2019ve seen.\u201d— Rob Burley (@Rob Burley) 1666610966
\u201cBREAKING: Rishi Sunak becomes new Prime Minister, accepting a short-term, zero-hours contract till next Friday.\u201d— Have I Got News For You (@Have I Got News For You) 1666617121
\u201cBREAKING: Rishi Sunak is new UK Prime Minister. He\u2019ll be the first British-Asian PM & first Hindu PM, and at 42, the youngest PM in modern times. I\u2019ve backed @RishiSunak for a long time, think he\u2019s the right guy for the job, and wish him every success.\u201d— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1666616819
\u201cRishi Sunak's Wikipedia page currently features a photograph of Kim Woodburn, of "How Clean Is Your House?"\u201d— David Gura (@David Gura) 1666616716
\u201cDoes that now make Rishi Sunak the shortest serving prime minister? \ud83e\udd41\u201d— Chris Rickett (@Chris Rickett) 1666617098
\u201c\u201cSee you all again same time next month\u201d\u201d— James Heale (@James Heale) 1666616674
\u201ceveryone publishing their stories that Sunak is going to be the next PM about to be blown away by the Chishti surprise 160 noms\u201d— Henry Dyer (@Henry Dyer) 1666616461
\u201cA lot of focus on Sunak being the first Asian PM but this is a big day for Britain's petite male community as well.\u201d— Sam Freedman (@Sam Freedman) 1666609059
\u201cHappy #Diwali2022 @RishiSunak - you\u2019re Britain\u2019s first prime minister of colour. Quite a moment.\u201d— Jon Sopel (@Jon Sopel) 1666616537
\u201cLiterally one minute before the announcement.\n\nLike the person who would get wind he was about to get dumped, in school, and run up to the other person and shout \u201cI\u2019M DUMPING YOU\u201d.\n\nWe are truly led by dysfunctional teens. ~AA\u201d— Best for Britain (@Best for Britain) 1666616540
\u201cNow perhaps the public can get back to actually running businesses/taking kids to school/planning life, and not having to watch every twist and turn of politics. @RishiSunak\u201d— camilla cavendish (@camilla cavendish) 1666616563
\u201cSo.... @RishiSunak is now selected by just over 170 people to run the county.\n\nHow is that democracy? How is that a Mandate to govern? 170 people.... Even Truss had over 80,000....\n\n#GeneralElectionN0W\u201d— Mike Dailly\u2122 \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc99 (@Mike Dailly\u2122 \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc99) 1666616606
\u201cNo one voted for this.\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1666616871
\u201cFirst non-white PM, first British Asian PM. \n\nRegardless of your political beliefs, a historic moment.\u201d— Shehab Khan ITV (@Shehab Khan ITV) 1666616854
\u201cGot to feel for Penny Mordaunt. Looking like she'll have to wait until November to be Prime Minister\u201d— Luke Francis (@Luke Francis) 1666614456
\u201cWonderful. Nothing could possibly go wrong.\u201d— Michael Fright (@Michael Fright) 1666616837
\u201cA good moment to recognise that in spite of bigoted LBC callers and stupid comments elsewhere, the UK is going to have its first prime minister from a minority since Disraeli. I don\u2019t share his politics and will vote against him but this is a great line to have crossed.\u201d— Guy Clapperton (@Guy Clapperton) 1666616785
\u201cFirst millennial Prime Minister.\u201d— Tom Harwood (@Tom Harwood) 1666615070
\u201cRishi Sunak is now prime minister until the next prime minister\u201d— Jim Pickard (@Jim Pickard) 1666616485
\u201cTory MP randomly saying InshAllah is wild\u201d— Shehab Khan ITV (@Shehab Khan ITV) 1666617834
\u201cThe 1922 Committee have REALLY enjoyed their centenary.\u201d— Richard Osman (@Richard Osman) 1666618393
\u201cYou may not like it but the fact remains that the people have decided and rishi sunak has won this general election fair and square. It\u2019s called democracy. You might want to look it up. \ud83d\udc4d\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\u201d— alistair green (@alistair green) 1666618072
\u201cRishi Sunak confirms he is standing. He\u2019s not sat down he\u2019s just a little fella. #Toryleadership\u201d— Rob Beckett (@Rob Beckett) 1666533095
\u201cThe man tasked with fixing the cost of living crisis.\u201d— Sam Bright (@Sam Bright) 1666617330
\u201c'98 Vince McMahon called it! #RishiSunak \n\n@MissKimMmy1981 I THANK YOU VERY MUCH\u201d— Olds Ghoul Wrestling \ud83d\udc7b (@Olds Ghoul Wrestling \ud83d\udc7b) 1666619028
\u201cI have regenerated!! \nJust be grateful I didn\u2019t have to become Parody Boris again.\n#RishiSunak\u201d— Parody Rishi Sunak (@Parody Rishi Sunak) 1666616848
\u201c@tomhfh It\u2019s still October\u201d— Tom Harwood (@Tom Harwood) 1666617143
\u201cIf Rishi Sunak doesn't use this as his entrance music before his speech, I will be disappointed\u201d— amar singh (@amar singh) 1666619152
\u201c"Sunak is 5ft 6', I'm convinced his cannot work..."\u201d— Jay Motty (@Jay Motty) 1666616772
\u201chttps://t.co/d7j3jcZAGr\u201d— :;ew (@:;ew) 1666619024
It is a simple and fundamental principle that the government derives its democratic legitimacy from the people. The future of the country must not be decided by plotting and U-turns at Westminster; it must be decided by the people in a general election. And for this reason The Independent is calling for an election to be held. Have your say and sign our election petition by clicking here.
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