His Majesty appointed Mr Sunak as premier, the first British Asian to reach the top job in UK politics and the youngest since the Napoleonic Wars more than 200 years ago. Mr Sunak’s political coronation took place as he was the only contender to get the backing of 100 MPs to enter the contest to be Tory leader after Liz Truss resigned after just 44 days in office, becoming the shortest-serving PM ever.
The ex-chancellor headed to Buckingham Palace mid-morning where the king asked him to form a government. With the world watching the maelstrom in British politics which has seen three prime ministers in 50 days, US president Joe Biden hailed Mr Sunak’s appointment as “a ground-breaking milestone” which “matters”.
Mr Sunak, 42, is the first PM that the king appointed, with his late mother Queen Elizabeth having seen 15 premiers during her 70-year reign, although Winston Churchill was already in office when she acceded to the throne in 1952. After the recent chaos at the heart of government and financial turmoil, former Home Office minister Victoria Atkins told Times Radio: “We can be extremely proud of the fact that we have now got a Prime Minister who not only has the character, and the decency, and the brains and the vision to do this job really well, but we should also be quietly proud that he is also the first British Asian Prime Minister that we will be seeing walk into No10 as well.”
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis