Rishi Sunak has promised to bring “stability” and “unity” to the United Kingdom after he was crowned as the new Tory leader and the next prime minister.
Delivering his first address to the nation after winning the race to replace Liz Truss, Mr Sunak said: “The United Kingdom is a great country. But there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge.
“We now need stability, and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”
Mr Sunak said that is the “only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better, more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren”.
He added: “I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility, and I will work day in, day out to deliver for the British people.”
Mr Sunak’s victory speech, which he delivered at Conservative Party headquarters in central London, clocked in at just 84 seconds in length – slightly shorter than Ms Truss’s resignation statement last week which was 89 seconds long.
Andrea Jenkyns, one of the first MPs to endorse Boris Johnson’s abandoned bid for the party leadership, urged the Tories to put their high-profile differences aside in support of their new leader.
“Now is the time for our party to unite, to come together behind Rishi Sunak and to drive forward with our ambitious agenda of unlocking the potential of every corner of our union,” Ms Jenkyns said on Twitter.
She had previously endorsed Liz Truss during the summer leadership race.
Narenda Modi, the Prime Minister of India, said he hoped to “transform our historic ties into a modern partnership” with Rishi Sunak in office:
The Indian government is currently pushing for a significant liberalisation of visa routes for workers and students but this proved a sticking point for Suella Braverman, the home secretary until her resignation last week.
Her refusal to accept an “open borders migration policy” with India was blamed by critics for delaying efforts to secure a trade deal with the second most populous nation in the world.
