By Ben Kerrigan-
Rushi Sunak has become the new Conservative leader and will be prime minister after Penny Mordaunt followed Boris Johnson in withdrawing from the race, minutes before the party was due to announce how many MPs had backed each candidate.
Mordaunt acknowledged she had not reached the necessary 100 MP threshold to progress, two minutes before the nomination process closed at 2pm, Mordaunt tweeted that she had pulled out, and that Sunak had her “full support”.
Five minutes later Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, formally announced the result: “I can confirm that we have one valid nomination, and Rishi Sunak is elected as leader of the Conservative party.”
Sunak, the former chancellor who came second in the leadership contest against Truss in the summer, secured the backing of more than half the parliamentary party by Monday morning, leading his rivals by far in the popularity department among mps. He becomes the first person of colour to become UK prime minister in the history of British politics and now has the challenge of uniting his fragmented party and improving the economic state of the Uk.
In her statement, Mordaunt said: “These are unprecedented times. Despite the compressed timetable for the leadership contest it is clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today. They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country.
“Members should know that this proposition has been fairly and thoroughly tested by the agreed 1922 [Committee] process. As a result, we have now chosen our next prime minister. This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support.”
In had bene thought that Sunak would have to face off against his former boss Boris Johnson, but the latter’s last minute withdrawal gave Sunak the easy rude into no.10.
The former prime minister said he had “cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations” but came to the conclusion that “this is simply not the right time” for his return to frontline politics – just six weeks after he was officially ousted.
The candidates had been due to submit their nominations from at least 100 MPs by Monday at 2pm, but Johnson pulled out on Sunday night, saying he had reached the threshold but it was not enough to cement party unity.
Announcing the results of the leadership race, Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 committee, said the Conservative Party only received one “valid” nomination to be the leader and therefore prime minister – Mr Sunak.