Rishi Sunak confirms his canidacy, claims support of 100 MPs

Rishi Sunak, the former minister of finance in the UK and one of the front-runners as the prime minister, made his candidacy for the position of head of the Conservative Party and prime minister official today. He has also claimed the support of over 100 MPs

The 42-year-old is clearly in the lead since he has the support of at least 128 Conservative lawmakers, despite claims from supporters of his former boss Boris Johnson that he only needs 100 to make the shortlist.

“I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country,” he said in a tweet, adding that the choice his party makes now “will decide whether the next generation of British people will have more opportunities than the last”.

The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.

That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.

I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022

Even though Mr Johnson hasn’t formally declared his candidacy, the competition is forming into a three-way race between Sunak, Johnson, and third-placed Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt.

The race is shaping up to be a three-way race between Mr. Sunak, Mr. Johnson, and third-placed Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, even though Mr. Johnson has yet to formally declare his candidacy.

Even face-to-face discussions between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak reportedly took place late on Saturday.

Former PM Johnson met with Mr Sunak to discuss the election after returning from a Caribbean vacation earlier in the day with the intention of making an audacious political comeback just weeks after leaving government, according to reports from the BBC and others.

The shortest tenure for a UK PM was witnessed by Liz Truss, who was forced to step down on her 45th day in office because her plans for tax cuts were unable to be implemented because it was unclear how she would finance them. Due to a slew of controversies, including partying during the Covid lockdown, Boris Johnson resigned in July after three years in office.

On Monday, October 24, nominations end. As per the guidelines outlined on the UK Parliament website, the 100 nominations needed to be on the final ballot may be submitted physically or by email.

The entire procedure will be finished by October 28 if there are several votes, which is possible if there is support from 100 MPs.