British Conservative MP and former United Kingdom Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Sunday that he is running to replace outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss. This makes it his second bid in months to lead the UK as it grapples with multiple crises.
"The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis," he tweeted confirming his widely-expected candidacy," adding, "I want to fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country".
Back in September, Rishi Sunak was defeated by Liz Truss in the race to replace Boris Johnson after losing an election held by members of the Conservative party across the country.
Ever since Liz Truss has resigned as the prime minister, the support for Rishi Sunak has crossed the threshold of 100, which made him eligible to run for the post, again. According to the reports, Boris Johnson, too, has a support of 100 MPs.
"There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done," Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
“I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems,” he said.
While Rishi Sunak earlier lost to Liz Truss, her dramatic political implosion after just 44 days in office has provided an almost immediate opportunity for the Tory MP to make a renewed bid to become Britain's first prime minister of colour.
It would be a historic landmark if the Hindu descendant of immigrants from Britain's old empire in India and East Africa were to take command of the world's fifth largest economy -- albeit one gripped by severe crisis.
Rishi Sunak failed in the summer leadership contest to convince the grassroots he was a better option than Truss. But having correctly predicted her economic agenda would spark economic turmoil, he may hope for more success second time around.
(With agency inputs)
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