Rishi Sunak declares candidacy to be new UK PM, says he needs to repair financial system

Indian-origin former chancellor Rishi Sunak on Sunday formally declared his candidacy to contest the Conservative Party management election to switch Liz Truss as British Prime Minister and repair the financial system.

The 42-year-old is the clear frontrunner as he raced forward with the backing of no less than 128 Tory members of Parliament, at the same time as loyalists of his former boss – Boris Johnson – claimed he has the mandatory 100 MPs wanted to make it to the shortlist.

While the previous Tory chief and prime minister is but to formally declare his candidacy, the competition is shaping up as a three-way struggle between Sunak, Johnson and third-placed Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt.

“The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis,” Sunak tweeted in his marketing campaign pitch.

“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,” he stated.

In an accompanying imaginative and prescient assertion, the previous finance minister highlighted his observe file of serving within the Cabinet, serving to to steer the financial system via the hardest of occasions with the COVID pandemic.

“The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities – if we make the right choice – are phenomenal. I have the track record of delivery, a clear plan to fix the biggest problems we face and I will deliver on the promise of the 2019 manifesto,” he tweeted.

“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done. I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems,” he added.

Prime Minister Truss on Thursday introduced her resignation after an open revolt towards her management within the Conservative Party.