Rishi Sunak: I will fix Truss ‘mistakes’ and win trust of the UK
The UK’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to fix the “mistakes” made by Liz Truss and to earn the trust of the British people after the past month of chaos.
Sunak said outside Number 10 that the country was “facing a profound economic crisis”, but promised that “we will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made”.
The new Prime Minister said ex-PM Truss was “not wrong to want to improve growth” and paid tribute to her “restlessness to create change”, but added that “some mistakes were made.”
“Not borne of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless.
And I have been elected as leader of my party, and your Prime Minister, in part, to fix them,” he said.
He also warned of “difficult decisions” that will need to be made as chancellor Jeremy Hunt prepares to unveil a fiscal package with tax hikes and spending cuts next week in a bid to balance the books.
It is expected that Hunt will stay in the post, with Treasury sources saying it is “still the plan” for the fiscal statement to go ahead as scheduled.
Sunak paid tribute to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was Prime Minister during his time as chancellor, and heralded his “incredible achievements”.
He also promised to uphold the Johnson’s 2019 election winning manifesto, while arguing there was no need for a General Election – something that Labour and opposition parties are calling for.
“The mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us,” he said.
“And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto. I will deliver on its promise.
“A stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs.”
The mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us.
Rishi Sunak
Sunak said he was “not daunted” by the task at hand, and his government would be led by “integrity professionalism and accountability”.
He also told the nation, “I fully appreciate how hard things are,” amid criticism he is out of touch with ordinary people.
Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy have a net worth of more than £750m, making him one of the richest prime ministers ever.
Earlier this morning he visited His Majesty the King at Buckingham Palace, and was formally appointed Prime Minister.
The new Conservative leader was invited to form a government, and is the youngest Prime Minister for more than 200 years, as well as the first British Asian prime minister.
It comes after Truss resigned last week triggering a leadership election, which Sunak won yesterday unopposed.
Liz Truss departs
Outside Number 10 this morning, Liz Truss said the UK “cannot afford to be a low growth country” and defended her tax-cutting agenda in her final speech.
The outgoing PM added that “our country continues to battle through a storm” but that “I believe in Britain, I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead”.
She did not offer any sort of apology for the chaos of her six-week premiership or admit to any mistakes in her economic agenda.
Truss said her time as Prime Minister, which was the shortest tenure ever, made her “more convinced than ever” that the UK needs to “be bold and confront the challenges we face”.
“We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently,” she said.
“This means delivering more freedom for our own citizens and restoring power to democratic institutions. It means lower taxes so people can keep more of the money that they earn.”
She also quoted Roman writer Seneca, saying: “She did not offer any sort of apology for the chaos of her six-week premiership.”
The mini-Budget from her first chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, who was eventually sacked, spooked markets about current levels of government borrowing.
The pair were offering £45bn of tax cuts all funded by government borrowing, along with a further £100bn of spending to freeze energy bills, which led to a crash in debt markets.
After her speech, she visited seen King Charles and asked her to send for Rishi Sunak.