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| Rishi Sunak warns of difficult decisions ahead in first speech as PM | Rishi Sunak warns of difficult decisions ahead in first speech as PM |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WATCH: Sunak on Truss: "Some mistakes were made" | WATCH: Sunak on Truss: "Some mistakes were made" |
| WATCH: Sunak on Truss: "Some mistakes were made" | WATCH: Sunak on Truss: "Some mistakes were made" |
| Rishi Sunak has warned of "difficult decisions" ahead as his government grapples with a "profound economic crisis", in his first speech as prime minister. | Rishi Sunak has warned of "difficult decisions" ahead as his government grapples with a "profound economic crisis", in his first speech as prime minister. |
| He said he had been elected as Tory leader to "fix" the "mistakes" made by his predecessor, Liz Truss. | He said he had been elected as Tory leader to "fix" the "mistakes" made by his predecessor, Liz Truss. |
| Mr Sunak promised to deliver the manifesto that won the Conservatives a landslide election victory in 2019. | Mr Sunak promised to deliver the manifesto that won the Conservatives a landslide election victory in 2019. |
| His speech outside No 10 came after he was appointed PM by King Charles. | His speech outside No 10 came after he was appointed PM by King Charles. |
| The UK's first British Asian prime minister, Mr Sunak is announcing his cabinet this afternoon, after telling Tory MPs to unify or face electoral oblivion. | |
| A large majority of those MPs backed him for the leadership and when his only remaining rival Penny Mordaunt withdrew, there was no need for a ballot of Tory members. | A large majority of those MPs backed him for the leadership and when his only remaining rival Penny Mordaunt withdrew, there was no need for a ballot of Tory members. |
| Following Mr Sunak's speech, opposition parties repeated their demand for an immediate general election and argued Mr Sunak had no mandate from the public. | |
| Mr Sunak's effective coronation as Tory leader on Monday spelled the end of Ms Truss's turbulent premiership, just 49 days after she took office. | Mr Sunak's effective coronation as Tory leader on Monday spelled the end of Ms Truss's turbulent premiership, just 49 days after she took office. |
| The prime minister who resigned after just 45 days | The prime minister who resigned after just 45 days |
| We need stability and unity, next PM Sunak says | We need stability and unity, next PM Sunak says |
| Rishi Sunak's first speech as prime minister in full | |
| Ms Truss became prime minister after defeating Mr Sunak in a ballot of Tory members during the summer, winning over members with her tax-cutting economic agenda. | Ms Truss became prime minister after defeating Mr Sunak in a ballot of Tory members during the summer, winning over members with her tax-cutting economic agenda. |
| But her government was destabilised by political and economic turmoil, exacerbated by her mini-budget, whose package of unfunded tax cuts has mostly been ditched. | But her government was destabilised by political and economic turmoil, exacerbated by her mini-budget, whose package of unfunded tax cuts has mostly been ditched. |
| In her farewell speech, Ms Truss defended her economic policies and said her time as prime minister convinced her of the need to be "bold". | |
| In his own speech, Mr Sunak paid tribute to his predecessors Boris Johnson and Ms Truss, saying she "was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country - it is a noble aim". | |
| "But some mistake were made," Mr Sunak said. "Not born of ill will or bad intentions, quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless. | "But some mistake were made," Mr Sunak said. "Not born of ill will or bad intentions, quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless. |
| "I have been elected as leader of the party and as prime minister in part to fix them. And that work begins immediately." | |
| Mr Sunak - who was chancellor until July this year - said he would place "economic componence and stability at the heart of this government's agenda", warning that "will mean difficult decisions to come". | Mr Sunak - who was chancellor until July this year - said he would place "economic componence and stability at the heart of this government's agenda", warning that "will mean difficult decisions to come". |
| He gave no details about what those decisions were, but how to fund support for energy bills, and bring down government debt, are likely to be among them. | |
| Mr Sunak is expected to cut public spending to plug an estimated £40bn hole in the public finances. | |
| Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to "fix" errors made by his predecessor, Liz Truss | |
| The economic challenges ahead for Mr Sunak loomed large in his speech, which he delivered in a solemn tone, outside his new residence at Downing Street. | |
| He appeared on his own without his wife, Akshata Murty, and two daughters beside him. | |
| He reminded the public of his decisions when he was chancellor during the Covid-19 pandemic, including the furlough scheme to help employers pay their staff. | |
| While "there are always limits", Mr Sunak said, "I promise you this: I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today." | |
| Other than a brief, television statement on Monday evening, this was the first the public will have heard from Mr Sunak since he was elected Tory leader. | |
| The 42-year-old former hedge fund boss, who has only been an MP for seven years, enters office at a time when his party is cratering in the polls. | |
| As the party searched for its third leader this year, Mr Sunak's former boss - Mr Johnson - insisted he was the only person who could unite the Conservatives and win the next election. | |
| Mr Johnson, who only resigned as prime minister in September, ultimately withdrew from the Tory leadership contest, admitting it was not the "right time" for a comeback. | |
| Mr Sunak reflected on Mr Johnson's "incredible achievements" in his speech, but downplayed his sole ownership of the party's 2019 election victory. | |
| The prime minister said "the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual - it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us". | |
| "And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto," he said. "I will deliver on its promise." | |
| If Mr Sunak moves too far away from his party's 2019 manifesto - which promised to "level up" the country - calls for an early general election may grow louder. | |
| The next one is not due until 2024 and Mr Sunak is under no obligation to hold one under the UK's parliamentary system. | |
| But Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said the country needed "a fresh start" after "12 years of Conservative failure", which Mr Sunak had been part of. | |
| Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Sunak's refusal to call a general election showed his party "does not trust the British people", who "will be rightly furious that they have been denied a say". |