Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that if he doesn’t win the Conservative Party leadership race, his job would be to support the next government if Boris Johnson loses the election on Monday. This is the first sign of what will happen after Monday’s election results to replace Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister.
In his last interview with the BBC before the election results are announced, the British-Indian former Chancellor said that he plans to keep serving his Richmond, Yorkshire, constituency as a member of Parliament even if Foreign Secretary Liz Truss beats him in the election.
Mr. Sunak responded, “I look forward to aiding the Conservative government in any way I can,” when asked what he would do if the election didn’t turn out the way he had hoped.
“I’m going to keep working in the government. As a member of Parliament, it’s been a pleasure to represent the people of Richmond, North Yorkshire, and I’d love to keep doing so as long as they’ll have me “said he.
When asked if he would run for the top job at 10 Downing Street again in a few years if he lost this time, he said, “Gosh, we just finished this campaign, and I need to recover from this one.” This is seen as the first sign that the former finance minister, who is 42 years old, is starting to doubt his chances of winning the Tory leadership race.
He hasn’t said that he won’t run again, which will make people think that if Liz Truss wins this election, he’ll want to run again to become the UK’s first Prime Minister of Indian descent.
Unlike when he was running against the Conservative MPs, Mr. Sunak has been behind Liz Truss in most polls of party members voting for a new leader to replace Johnson.
Both candidates have met in a dozen debates around the UK to try to win over voters. The rising cost of energy and inflation have caused a crisis in the cost of living, which has been the main topic of these meetings.
The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) is adding up the votes that about 160,000 Conservative members cast online and by mail. Sir Graham Brady, the leader of the 1922 Committee of backbencher Tory MPs and the person in charge of the election, will announce the winner on Monday at 12:30 p.m. local time.
About ten minutes before the general public hears the news, the last two candidates in the race will find out who has won the top job at 10 Downing Street.
Soon, the new leader of the Conservative Party will give a short speech of thanks at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London, near Downing Street. The winner will spend the rest of Monday putting the finishing touches on his or her Cabinet.
Boris Johnson, who is stepping down as prime minister, will say his final goodbyes on the steps of his Downing Street office on Tuesday morning. He will then be flown to Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to meet with the queen and officially step down as head of state.
As the 96-year-old queen gets older, she travels less. His successor will arrive in Scotland hours later and meet Queen Elizabeth II at her Balmoral Castle home to be officially named prime minister. This will be the first time in history that the appointment is made somewhere other than England or Buckingham Palace.
Later on Tuesday afternoon, the new Prime Minister will go back to Downing Street to give an inaugural speech. Then, he or she will start announcing key Cabinet positions.
