Labor MPs and Theresa May, her predecessor, refused to applaud him.
The Prime Minister will now be decided by some 160,000 Conservative members in a vote that will end on 5 September with the Conservatives producing the third female Prime Minister of Britain or the first of the UK to be of ethnic origin.
Sunak, a former hedge funder and billionaire in his own right and married to the daughter of an Indian billionaire, has been the favorite throughout the contest.
But it is the goal of the ousted prime minister and his supporters, who believe Sunak contributed to Johnson’s disappearance by planning a leadership campaign for months.
Sunak and former health secretary Sajid Javid left Johnson’s cabinet on July 5th. Three days later, Sunak launched his leadership offering with an elegant video outlining his family background, as he vowed to be honest with the audience about the challenges ahead.
He attacked candidates who would tell the public “comforting fairy tales” by pretending that tax cuts could be made while the budget deficit is projected to be 128 billion pounds ($ 228 billion), equivalent to 5.4 percent of UK GDP.
Penny Mordaunt was eliminated in Wednesday’s vote, leaving Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in the race to be the next leader of the Conservative Party. Credit: Getty
Hours before the result was announced, inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.4%, stressing that the cost of living will be the central theme of the competition.
Sunak voted “Leave” during Brexit, but has the support of centrists and moderate conservatives, many of whom voted in favor of “Stay,” because they believe he has the ability to reach the public. It became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of the leave regime and the “Eat Out to Help You” campaign aimed at stimulating the hospitality industry.
Truss, who was a Liberal Democrat, campaigned for “Stay” during the EU referendum, but has reshaped her image as a low-level Brexit conservative.
It is backed by large parts of the right that supported Brexit and is believed to have unofficial support from Johnson.
This is because it promises a tougher stance with China, lowering taxes and possibly shaking the Bank of England, believing it loosened monetary policy too hard and for too long, contributing to inflation.
Having served in the cabinet of David Cameron, Theresa May and Johnson, Truss also holds a record for delivering trade deals with Australia and New Zealand and transfer deals with many other countries after Brexit.
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