On Thursday, Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister, solidified his lead over rivals to succeed Boris Johnson as the next prime minister of the United Kingdom.
With 101 votes, Sunak continued to be ahead of Penny Mordaunt, the trade secretary, who had 83 votes. He received 88 votes in the first round on Wednesday, with Mordaunt coming in second with 67 votes.
Jeremy Hunt, a former cabinet minister who finished last with 18 votes, endorsed Sunak, 42, cementing his position as the candidate to beat in the contest.
Attorney General Suella Braverman, a proponent of Brexit, was eliminated from the race on Thursday because she fell short of the required 30 votes to advance to the next round.
Whoever wins the election will have to deal with high inflation, slow economic growth, and the public’s lack of faith in politics following Johnson’s scandal-plagued tenure in office. Sunak congratulated his followers and posted on Twitter, “I am ready to contribute everything I have in service to our nation,” after holding his lead. We can reconcile the nation, rebuild our economy, and restore trust by working together.
Earlier, he declared on the air that combating high inflation will take precedence over his rivals’ campaign of slashing taxes. Sunak highlighted that he was the “ideal person” to defeat the Opposition in the upcoming election after resigning as Chancellor and initiating the chain of events that led to Boris Johnson’s resignation as Prime Minister last week.
