Sunak defeats Mordaunt in race for number 10 Downing Street
It is looking likely that a new Prime Minister will be in office by Tuesday morning.
Following the departure of Liz Truss from number ten – just six weeks after her election – the role is up for grabs yet again.
The front runner is former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
As of October 24, he is the only candidate with more than 100 backers, with over half of Tory MPs officially supporting him.
His backers include prominent MPs such as Suella Braverman, Michael Gove and Matt Hancock.
Sunak’s rival for the role was Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council.
But her failure to reach 100 nominations led to her to drop out of the race, essentially handing the job of Prime Minister to Sunak.
Mordaunt became the challenger following former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s withdrawal.
There are many in the political world who believe that Sunak could be the one to unite the Conservative party.
Independent councillor for Oban South and the Isles, Andrew Kain agrees with the sentiment:
“It looks like Rishi Sunak will become Prime Minister. And if he retains Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, there is a chance parliament will be calmed down. However, that doesn’t change the fact that there is a massive economic deficit.”
But some MP’s strongly believe that a general election is desperately needed. One such MP is Brendan O’Hara of Argyll and Bute, who said:
“Given the complete and utter shambles of the Conservative Party, the case for an immediate General Election has never been stronger. The UK government is disintegrating before our eyes, and we are about to have our third Prime Minister in as many months and possibly even the fifth different Chancellor since June.”
