Rishi Sunak warned the U.K. faces a "profound economic challenge” as he prepares to take power after emerging victorious in the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister.
In a short address just hours after Penny Mordaunt pulled out of the race for No. 10 Downing St., the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, 42, vowed to make it his "utmost priority” to unite both the nation and his warring Conservative Party. "I will work day in and day out to deliver for the British people,” he said.
Sunak faces a formidable challenge to steady the U.K. economy in the face of headwinds including double-digit inflation, rising interest rates and a surge in mortgage costs. After Truss’ disastrous 7 weeks in power left the Tories languishing in opinion polls, he also has a tricky task to unite the different Tory factions, with many of the party’s Members of Parliament blaming him for the downfall of Truss’ predecessor, Boris Johnson, earlier in the year.