Rishi Sunak becomes UK prime minister

We’re closing our live coverage of Rishi Sunak’s appointment as Prime Minister. You can read more about Tuesday’s developments here.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a statement after taking office outside Number 10 in Downing Street in London Tuesday.

“Some mistakes were made.”

With that four-word missive in his first speech as Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak made very clear that he wants to distance himself as far as possible from his politically radioactive predecessor, Liz Truss.

It was an unusually blunt appraisal of his colleague, but it’s clear to see why Sunak wants to present himself as (yet another) fresh face for Britain. Truss’s tenure brought disaster for the UK’s economy, and Sunak has pitched himself as the man to balance the books and bring stability to the country.

He will begin that task later on Tuesday when he starts appointing his Cabinet. Some expect an olive branch to those on the right wing of the party, but Sunak must balance unity with harmony after another spell of chaos in Downing Street.

It also remains to be seen whether the?economic debate within the Conservative Party has truly been settled.

In her own 416-word farewell speech — eight words for each day she served as leader — Liz Truss omitted any apologies for the impact of her fiscal plan.

Instead, Truss tried one last time to defend her vision. “We simply cannot afford to be a low-growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth,” Truss said, calling for “lower taxes” and an emphasis on growth.

Truss could seek to parlay what remains of her political capital by becoming an outspoken backbencher. Sunak must also deal with the continued presence of his rival, Boris Johnson, and the considerable appeal he still holds in the party. And he must bat back calls for a general election from a Labour Party that is soaring in opinion polls after a year of crisis at the top of the ruling group.

With potential enemies on all sides and dire economic headwinds on the horizon, some might wonder why Sunak even wants the job.

But “when the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness,” Sunak said outside Downing Street.

That willingness may be tested in the months to come. For now, though, Sunak has clinched the job he coveted at the second attempt, on a historic day for Britain.

Read more on Sunak’s appointment here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Rishi Sunak on becoming Britain’s Prime Minister, wishing him success in his effort to “overcome all the challenges facing British society and the whole world today.”

He said he looks forward to building on Ukraine’s relationship with the UK, which has been a global leader in its support for the country since Russia’s invasion.

Sunak mentioned Ukraine only briefly in his speech outside Downing Street, referencing “a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions.”

But he will be expected to maintain London’s support for Kyiv. The UK has donated aid and weapons to Ukraine’s military and has helped train Ukrainian troops on British soil.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson congratulated Rishi Sunak on becoming the new leader of the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

On Sunday,?Johnson announced he would not enter the contest for Conservative party leader, handing a boost to Sunak’s candidacy.

The two men have a complicated history. Sunak served as Johnson’s finance minister and stood by him during numerous scandals. But Sunak’s decision to quit the government this summer helped trigger a wave of resignations from other lawmakers that made Johnson’s position untenable.

Johnson has made no secret of the fact that he believes Sunak betrayed him by resigning from his government.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has repeated his calls for a general election after congratulating Rishi Sunak on becoming the first British-Asian Prime Minister.

“The Tories have crashed the economy, with low wages, high prices and a cost of living crisis. The public needs a fresh start and a say on Britain’s future.”

Britain's newly appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech outside 10 Downing Street in central London Tuesday.

“I understand how difficult this moment is,” Rishi Sunak said in his first speech as Prime Minister.

He made a brief reference to the conflict in Ukraine, saying he comes to power “in the midst of a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions.”

“When the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness,” he went on.

“So I stand here before you ready to lead our country into the future. To put your needs above politics. To reach out and build a government that represents the very best traditions of my party,” Sunak said.

“Together we can achieve incredible things.”

Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech outside 10 Downing Street in central London Tuesday.

Rishi Sunak has promised to place “integrity” and “accountability” at the heart of his premiership, but batted back calls for a general election in his first speech as Prime Minister.

“I will unite our country, not with words but with action,” Sunak said. “This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level,” he added, in an attempt to distance himself from the tenure of Boris Johnson which was brought down by repeated scandals over dishonesty.

“Trust is earned, and I will earn yours,” Sunak said. “I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened,” he later added.

“I always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister, and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit,” he went on.

It was a warm nod to his rival, but perhaps a political necessary one given calls that Sunak pursue an early general election to seek his own mandate.

“I know he will agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual,” Sunak said, a direct attempt to rebuff those calls.

Rishi Sunak has said he will be forced to make “difficult decisions” as Prime Minister, due to the country’s economic situation.

“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come,” Sunak said.

“But you saw me during Covid doing everything I could to protect people and bossiness with schemes like furlough.”

“There are always limits. More so now than ever,” Sunak said.

“But I promise you this – I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.”

Rishi Sunak is officially Britain’s new prime minister after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. Earlier, outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke outside 10 Downing Street before officially resigning to the new monarch. Take a look at photos from all of today’s events in London.

Britain's newly appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak waves outside 10 Downing Street in London Tuesday.

King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government on Tuesday in London.

King Charles III speaks with Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace, London Tuesday.

New Conservative Party leader and incoming prime minister Rishi Sunak arrives at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday for his audience with the King.

Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss walks away from the podium after delivering her final speech outside 10 Downing Street in central London, Tuesday, before heading to Buckingham Palace to give her resignation.

King Charles III arrives at Buckingham Palace ahead of his audiences with outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss and incoming leader Rishi Sunak on Tuesday.

Rishi Sunak is giving his first address to the UK as the country’s Prime Minister, telling the public that Liz Truss made “mistakes” which he has been appointed to fix.

“It is only right to explain why I’m standing her as your new Prime Minister,” Sunak said outside Downing Street.

“Right now, our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of Covid still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains the world over.”

“I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss,” Sunak said.

“She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. It is a noble aim and I admired her restlessness to create change. But some mistakes were made.”

“Not borne of ill will or bad intentions, quite the opposite in fact. But mistakes nonetheless,” Sunak said.

He added that he has been chosen to lead the Conservatives “in part to fix them, and that work begins immediately.”

Rishi Sunak has left Buckingham Palace and will soon arrive at Downing Street, where he will make his first public remarks as Prime Minister.

King Charles III meets with Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace in London Tuesday.

Buckingham Palace has released images of a smiling King Charles III appointing a new Prime Minister for the first time.

Charles met with Rishi Sunak in the past few moments and asked him to form a government.

King Charles III meets Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, Tuesday.

Rishi Sunak is officially Britain’s fifth Prime Minister in six years, after meeting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.

Sunak is the first person of color, the first British-Asian and the first Hindu to lead the United Kingdom.

He enters Downing Street at a moment of crisis for his party and the country, after Liz Truss’s shambolic 50-day tenure plunged Britain into even deeper economic turmoil.

Rishi Sunak is greeted by King Charles III's equerry, Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson, as he arrives at Buckingham Palace for an audience with King Charles III in London, Tuesday.

Rishi Sunak has arrived at Buckingham Palace to be formally appointed Prime Minister.

He will meet King Charles III and accept his offer to form a government in the next few moments.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss has tendered her resignation to King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.

The King “graciously” accepted her resignation, according to the Palace.

The outgoing prime minister’s husband and two daughters joined her at Buckingham Palace.

Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss arrives at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday for an audience with King Charles III.

Liz Truss has entered Buckingham Palace with her husband to meet with King Charles III.

During that meeting she will formally offer her resignation, which Charles will accept.

Liz Truss ended her final speech as Prime Minister with a call for continued support for Ukraine.

“We must be able to outcompete autocratic regimes where power lies in the hands of the few,” Truss said. “And now more than ever we must support Ukraine in their brave fight against Putin’s aggression.”

“Ukraine must prevail, and we must continue to strengthen our nation’s defences.”

“That’s what I have been striving to achieve, and I wish Rishi Sunak every success for the good of our country,” she said, in a brief mention of her successor.”

Truss said she is looking forward to spending more time in her constituency.

And she concluded: “Our country continues to battle through a storm, but I believe in Britain, I believe in the British people, and I know that brighter days lie ahead.”

Britain's outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss steps back from the podium after delivering her final speech outside 10 Downing Street in central London, Tuesday, before heading to Buckingham Palace to give her resignation to King Charles III.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech at 10 Downing Street in London, Tuesday.

Liz Truss defended her disastrous economic agenda in her farewell speech, making one last pitch for a low-tax, small-state vision despite the chaos her fiscal plan caused.

“We simply cannot afford to be a low-growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth,” Truss said.

“We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently,” she went on. “This means delivering more freedom for our citizens.”

“It means lower taxes so people can keep more of the money that they earn … and it means delivering growth,” Truss said.

It is unlikely that Rishi Sunak will keep Truss’s advice in mind; he repeatedly warned that her economic plan would wreck markets during the summer, and was swiftly proven correct.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss, left, speaks outside Downing Street in London, Tuesday, October 25, 2022 as her husband Hugh O'Leary and daughters Frances and Liberty look on.

Liz Truss is delivering her farewell speech as prime minister, on her 50th and final day in the role.

“It has been a huge honor to be Prime Minister of this great country,” Truss began. “In particular, to lead the nation in mourning the death of Her Majesty the Queen.”

She went on to list a few of what she sees as her achievements, claiming that “in just a short period this government has acted urgently and decisively” to help working families.

“From my time as prime minister, I am more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenge that we face.”

Liz Truss is about to give her final speech as prime minister outside Downing Street.

Her Cabinet have gathered outside the famous black door to watch the speech and bid Truss farewell.

It follows the last Cabinet meeting for the shortest-serving prime minister ever.

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s?third prime minister in seven weeks, will face the huge challenge of projecting stability after a period of historic political and financial market chaos. But his other task — shepherding the country through a?recession?— is poised to be just as daunting.

The former finance minister has won the race to replace Liz Truss, his erstwhile opponent who’s set to be the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. He’ll officially step into the role once appointed by King Charles III.

Sunak said Monday that it was his “utmost priority to bring our party and our country together” in the face of a “profound economic challenge.”

Investors cautiously welcomed news of his victory. The pound moved in and out of the red against the US dollar on Monday. It was last trading above $1.13, about 0.1% higher. Yields on benchmark 10-year UK bonds, which move opposite prices, fell to 3.76%. The FTSE 250 index of mid-size UK companies gained 1.1%.

Sunak?campaigned?for the job over the summer with promises to help households tackle the rising cost of living, which is causing many to pull back spending. He said he would cut taxes, but only once price pressures eased.

Yet the economic outlook has deteriorated sharply since then — not least because of the market turmoil unleashed by Truss’ now-abandoned plan to slash taxes as soon as possible and boost government borrowing.

A?closely watched gauge of economic activity?dropped to a 21-month low in October. S&P Global, which tracks the data, said it effectively confirms the United Kingdom is in a recession.

“The heightened political and economic uncertainty has caused business activity to fall at a rate not seen since the global financial crisis in 2009, if pandemic lockdown months are excluded,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Rishi Sunak, former UK chancellor of the exchequer, arrives at his office in Millbank, in London, UK, on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Sunak?took a huge step toward becoming the UKs next prime minister as former premier?Boris Johnson?pulled out of the contest after a weekend of vacillation and as he won the endorsement of Chancellor of the Exchequer?Jeremy Hunt.

Related article New UK prime minister faces huge economic challenges as well as messy politics | CNN Business

The?rise of Rishi Sunak?to the top job in British politics is remarkable.

Just seven weeks ago he was comprehensively?beaten by Liz Truss in the Conservative party’s leadership contest. Today, after emerging victorious in a leadership contest that was fast-tracked out of the wreckage of her short premiership, he is only an audience with?King Charles III away from Downing Street.

The man who served as?Boris Johnson’s finance minister?for two and a half years, only to resign and bring down Johnson’s government, now faces the unenviable task of picking up a reeling nation after Truss’s disastrous tenure.?

He will do so, it’s fair to assume, by implementing the economic plan that he outlined during his failed leadership bid earlier this year. Sunak criticized Truss’ plans to slash taxes and fund day-to-day spending through borrowing, saying it would cause?economic havoc.?

He was proved right when Truss’ government implemented her plans in a “mini-budget,” which caused the pound to fall to its lowest level in decades and collapsed bond prices, sending borrowing costs soaring and pushing pension funds to the brink of insolvency.

As Sunak also predicted, rising interest rates drove up mortgage repayments, and lenders?scrambled to pull?their products from the market, dashing the hopes of many prospective homeowners almost overnight.

Britain’s international reputation had already taken a hit before Truss came to office. The endless scandals that ultimately forced Johnson from office, on top of his repeated threats to break international law over the Brexit deal he personally agreed with the European Union, had not made world leaders well-disposed towards the UK.

Sunak’s accession can be directly attributed to the chaos of the past few months. He is seen as a safe pair of hands, having won wide praise for his handling of the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping businesses and citizens with big government spending programs that saved many livelihoods. His job now is clear: To bring calm.?

Unfortunately for Sunak, he has inherited a political party that has spent the past few years tearing chunks out of itself. The Conservative party of 2022 is defined by factionalism and split loyalties that made it ungovernable for both Johnson and Truss.?

Conservative Party leadership candidate Rishi Sunak leaves his campaign office, in London, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022.

Related article Can Rishi Sunak end the chaos and restore Britain's credibility? | CNN

Rishi Sunak (L) and Liz Truss.

Tuesday marks the first time that King Charles III will appoint a prime minister. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, saw 15 leaders serve during her 70-year-reign; Charles is already welcoming his second in less than seven weeks.

Here’s a rundown of what we’re expecting today:

Rishi Sunak (C) waves after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest at the Conservative party Headquarters in London, on October 24.

Andy Warhol once said that, in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.

Perhaps he should have predicted that everyone will get to lead the Conservative Party for two months.

Rishi Sunak won Monday’s latest leadership contest seven weeks after losing the previous one to Liz Truss, and on Tuesday he will succeed Truss, become the first person of color to lead Britain.

It’s a screeching about-turn even for the UK’s whirlwind political scene. And it demonstrates the chaotic battle for control at the top of Britain’s ruling party as much as Sunak’s own rapid rise to the pinnacle of politics.

But appointing a new leader became a necessity after Truss’s disastrous term tanked the markets and forced her out of office in record time. Her tenure will end on Tuesday morning, the 50th day of her shambolic stint in office.

Sunak will follow Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May as post-Brexit PMs who wrangled for authority in a divided party after David Cameron quit in the wake of the 2016 referendum.

And he will need to address a swelling cost-of-living crisis that has left British families struggling to pay the bills, while also managing a war in Europe and seeking to salvage Britain’s global reputation.

Those tasks and many more begin later on Tuesday, when King Charles III appoints a Prime Minister for the first time and fires the starting gun on Sunak’s tenure.