BREAKING: Sunak to replace Truss as UK Prime Minister

London, UK | XINHUA | Rishi Sunak, former chancellor of the exchequer of the United Kingdom (UK), on Monday won the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership contest. He will replace Liz Truss as the country’s new prime minister.

Sunak was the only contender who secured the required backing of 100 lawmakers by the deadline of 2 p.m. local time, thus becoming the winner automatically. Another contender, Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, failed to garner enough votes.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson withdrew from the contest on Sunday night, despite claiming that he had secured the backing of 102 Tory lawmakers. Johnson said it was “simply not the right time” for him to stand for the leadership race as “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament.”

The leadership race was triggered when Truss announced her resignation on Thursday after a little over six weeks in office. Her economic blueprint, the “mini-budget,” was blamed for causing economic chaos and tanking the Conservative Party’s poll rating. ■