Rishi Sunak’s sudden return to the top of British politics and the unveiling of his new cabinet dominates the UK front pages on Wednesday.
The Guardian headlines “PM’s reshuffle gamble on first day in charge” and leads with an image of Rishi Sunak meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
The paper writes that Sunak “pledged to bring ‘integrity and accountability’” but “gambled by restoring Suella Braverman to the Home Office less than a week after she was sacked for a security breach.”
Under the headline “I’ll fix mistakes, vows Sunak as he brings in continuity cabinet,” The Times notes that “one-third of ministers” have kept their jobs.
The i calls it “Sunak’s crisis cabinet”. It says that the prime minister has stacked his front benches with “political rivals” in a “bid to unify warring Tories”.
But the paper quotes a Tory source as saying “all the blokes are in the top jobs” and that “‘sniping’ will not stop”.
The Mail splashes with “Leave it to me, Your Majesty!” and a full-page picture of the new prime minister and monarch.
The paper’s political editor writes that “Sunak selected a unity cabinet last night as he pledged to ‘fix the mistakes’ made by Liz Truss.”
The Telegraph quotes the prime minister on its front page saying, “Mistakes were made. I’ll fix them”. It says that Sunak warned “‘difficult decisions’ were needed as he partly blamed the economic mess on his predecessor”.
The Financial Times says “Sunak confronts ‘profound crisis’”. It notes that Jeremy Hunt has been “retained as chancellor in focus on stability and confidence” and that there were early signs that Sunak’s election had “eased the turmoil in the markets”.
The Mirror highlights the scale of the crisis facing the prime minister, with the headline “Meanwhile ..in the real world”.
It writes that “As millionaire Rishi Sunak starts work as PM, people are in despair at the cost of living. Some basic food items have risen almost two-thirds in a year.”
The Sun says “PM brings back familiar faces” and “At least I got rid of the other Mogg, Larry” on top of a picture of Sunak and Downing Street’s resident cat, Larry.
The paper notes that “the new PM sacked 11 of his predecessor’s top team, including Jacob Rees-Mogg.”
Finally, the Daily Record brands Sunak a “wee feartie”, a Scottish word for coward. The paper writes that “Opponents blast new Prime Minister for running scared of general election”.