Eight candidates are in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister

Eight of eleven Tory MPs qualified to enter the race to become leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister of the UK, after garnering the support of at least 20 of their allies by the time voting closes on Tuesday evening. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, 42, led the race, followed by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, The first round of voting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, with candidates needing more than 30 MP votes to remain in the race.

Read also:Britain’s new prime minister to be announced on 5 September

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Sunak defended Prime Minister Boris Johnson at an event to launch his campaign for prime ministership. He resigned from Mr Johnson’s cabinet last Tuesday Citing differences with Mr Johnson. The prime minister announced on Thursday that he would step down in the near future, joining dozens of lawmakers after a massive resignation from his government.

“As candidates to replace him, we are indebted to the British people for electing Boris as prime minister in 2019 to explain why he is stepping down,” Mr Sunak said. Said, there was something wrong with a process that oversees a meeting. The Prime Minister took his place, with those who replaced him “pulling the curtain and acting as if it was nobody’s job but theirs”.

Mr Sunak said Mr Johnson was one of the “most remarkable” people he had met and would not participate in a rewrite of history that “showcases Boris” while exaggerating his faults.

breaking the rules

Mr Sunak, like his former boss, was criticized and fined for breaking pandemic lockdown rules by attending Mr Johnson’s birthday party in Downing Street in June 2020. The former chancellor, who is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. , was also in the headlines because his wife Saved on paying taxes On his foreign income, as an expatriate living in Britain.

Despite being a public servant in the UK, he has also been criticized for retaining his US ‘green card’ if elected to lead the Tories, making Mr Sunak Britain’s first non-white and Indian-origin person. Will be prime minister.

Others who qualified on Tuesday included Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt and Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Another former health secretary, Sajid Javid, who, like Mr Sunak, resigned on Tuesday last week, dropped out of the race on Tuesday. Conservative Party members will eventually choose from two candidates, with results expected on 5 September.

Mr Sunak received many endorsements on Tuesday: he was introduced at his event by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab. transport secretary grant curse, who had previously been in the race, withdrew from the race and was also present at the campaign event. Former health secretary Matt Hancock also announced he was backing the former chancellor. ,

Home Secretary Priti Patel, the architect of the controversial policy to transfer refugees arriving in Britain to Rwanda, said on Tuesday that she would not join the race.

Focus on driving the UK economy

Central to Mr Sunak’s campaign is putting the UK economy in a better shape. He said on Tuesday he planned to steer the economy through the “headwinds” he was facing. Inflation is expected to reach 11% this year, according to the Bank of England, although it is expected to subside in 2023. Mr. Sunak said he would cut taxes once inflation is under control.

“It’s a question of when not,” he said.

Mr Sunak also pledged, on Tuesday, to stick to Mr Johnson’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) pledge that the UK would increase its defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 (that is, 2 of NATO’s). above the annual target of %). He said the NATO guideline is a “floor and not a ceiling” and that his approach to defense spending would be “threat-based”.

As the Tories sort through their candidates to find a leader, Labor will introduce a no-confidence motion in the British Parliament on Wednesday – a move to prevent Mr Johnson from continuing until 5 September in Downing Street. If this move is successful, the country could go to general elections.