Rishi Sunak is the Favourite to be Next UK PM

To some Conservatives, Rishi Sunak is the minister who got Britain through the COVID pandemic, to others the ‘traitor’ who knifed Boris Johnson or the rival to Liz Truss who presciently warned her tax plans would bring chaos.

“Now he has to weigh up whether he can convince Britain’s governing party he is the man to save it from chaos.”

The former finance minister was “runner-up in the last contest to become Britain’s prime minister” which only concluded six weeks ago, despite being the most popular candidate amongst Conservative lawmakers in parliament.

But he was beaten by Liz Truss in the deciding vote by grassroots party members, with many blaming him for the downfall of their hero Boris Johnson.

It was Sunak’s dramatic decision to quit in July which set off a wave of resignations by ministers, ultimately forcing Johnson to reluctantly give up the top job in Downing Street.

During the summer’s leadership contest Sunak ‘warned’ that Truss’s tax cuts would cause a jump in borrowing costs, a message that proved to be correct as “her economic programme triggered a bond market rout that led to her demise.”

Reuters /Shakirat Sadiq