Coronavirus: Rishi Sunak to run government if Dominic Raab becomes incapacitated
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Rishi Sunak will take over prime ministerial duties if Dominic Raab becomes incapacitated while Boris Johnson is unable to lead government.
Raab, as first secretary of state, is deputising while the Prime Minister is intensive care with coronavirus.
A Downing Street spokesman today said that next in the “order of precedence” is chancellor Rishi Sunak and that he would take over if Raab cannot fulfil his duties.
“The Prime Minister has appointed the foreign secretary [Raab] as first secretary of state and as per the order of precedence the chancellor would follow from the foreign secretary,” he said.
Johnson asked Raab to deputise for him last night, shortly before being taken to the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital after his condition worsened.
The spokesman said the Prime Minister was in a stable condition and that he was breathing without the assistance of “mechanical ventilation or non-invasive respiratory support”.
Raab chaired the daily C19 “war cabinet” this morning and will be responsible for running government while Johnson cannot.
The foreign secretary and the cabinet collectively have the power to make national security decisions, however he will not be having weekly meetings with the Queen.
Sunak’s position as de-facto deputy prime minister marks a meteoric rise for the 39-year-old who was made chancellor less than two months ago.
Sunak delivered his first budget just three weeks after being appointed and has been at the front of the government’s response to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
His efforts have drawn him wide praise and he is now the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Johnson as the next leader of the Conservative party.
A YouGov poll from last month gave him a +49 favourability rating, making him the most popular politician in the country.