Rishi Sunak is gearing up for his first Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons on 26 October, when he will face opposition Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer who pronounced him a “weak” PM, who “who will have to put his party first and the country second”.
Britain’s 57th Prime Minister, who was formally invited to form a government by King Charles III on Tuesday, was mocked by Starmer, UK media outlets reported, with the opposition leader telling his shadow cabinet:
“Rishi Sunak stabbed Boris Johnson in the back when he thought he could get his job. And in the same way, he will now try and disown the Tory record of recent years and recent months and pretend that he is a new broom.”
Starmer, whose Labor party has been leading in recent polling after the turmoil triggered by Liz Truss’ brief stint in 10 Downing Street, recalled Sunak’s legacy as Chancellor, saying:
“…He was also the Chancellor who left Britain facing the lowest growth of any developed country, the highest inflation and millions of people worried about their bills. And now he plans to make working people pay the price for the Tories’ crashing the economy.”
Starmer, according to a transcript of the meeting cited by outlets, reminded his MPs that Sunak “has only ever fought one leadership election battle his entire life and ‘got thrashed’ by Liz Truss”.
“No wonder he doesn’t want to fight a General Election,” the Labour leader quipped.
Both Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner, reiterated Labour's demand for an immediate General Election after Sunak was confirmed as the new Tory leader.
After having been the only candidate remaining in the Tory leadership race after former PM Boris Johnson and House of Commons leader, Penny Mordaunt exited the fray, the 42-year-old former Chancellor became Britain’s third PM in a year on 24 October.
On Monday, Rishi Sunak, a practicing Hindu with Punjabi roots delivered his first speech outside No 10, admitting that mistakes had been made by Truss.
After the political and economic turmoil that his predecessor’s mini-budget of unfunded sweeping tax cuts - most of which were subsequently abandoned - caused, Sunak promised his agenda would be rooted in "economic componence and stability”.
With tax rises and public spending cuts anticipated at the end of the month to deal with a cost of living crisis and record levels of inflation, Sunak warned of “difficult decisions to come" when the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his fiscal statement on 31 October.
Sunak also reshuffled his cabinet on Tuesday, as he sought to form a government of "all the talents" and maintain unity within the largely fractured Conservative Party. Suella Braverman was controversially reappointed Home Secretary just days after quitting for breaching the ministerial code. Dominic Raab is once again deputy PM as well as Justice Secretary. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace remain in place.
Britain’s youngest PM in 200 years held several calls with world leaders after being appointed PM on Tuesday. United States President Joe Biden, after congratulating Sunak on his appointment earlier during the White House Diwali event, said during the telephone exchange that “the UK remains America's closest ally", according to Downing Street. Sunak and Biden "reaffirmed the special relationship" between their two countries and "agreed on the importance of working together to support Ukraine”.
"The leaders discussed the extent of UK-US cooperation, both bilaterally and in regions such as the Indo-Pacific where the AUKUS pact forms part of our efforts to enhance stability and counter China's malign influence," added No 10.
Weighing in on the continuing row over the contentious post-Brext Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK PM and US President agreed to "preserve" the Good Friday peace deal that ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
"The leaders looked forward to meeting in person at the upcoming G20 Summit in Indonesia," concluded Downing Street.
In another call, made to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, the new UK PM assured him that British support for the Kiev authorities would remain "as strong as ever" under his No 10 tenure.
“The prime minister said … President Zelensky could count on his government to stand in continued solidarity," Downing Street stated.
Zelensky was cited as saying he believed that “British leadership in defending democracy and freedom would only get stronger", as he invited Sunak to visit Ukraine, adding:
“Ukraine and Britain have reached new heights in relations lately but nevertheless we still have the potential to strengthen our cooperation.”
London has been one of the most vigorous allies of Washington in continuously funneling weapons to the Ukrainian military to prop up the Kiev regime, something Moscow has repeatedly warned against as serving to prolong the conflict and cause further escalation.