Summary
Here’s a roundup of today’s news, as Rishi Sunak wins the Conservative party leadership, as the only candidate after Penny Mordaunt decided not to run.
Rishi Sunak has become Conservative party leader, after the result of the first round of the leadership contest was announced on Monday afternoon.
In a speech Sunak told his party it must “unite or die” and in a stilted TV address he said Britain faces “a profound economic challenge”.
Penny Mordaunt announced she would withdraw from the race, minutes before the 1922 committee announcement. Allies have shown evidence she was less than 10 MPs away from making the 100 MP threshold.
Sunak will meet King Charles at the palace on Tuesday where he will be asked to form a government, and become prime minister. Sunak will give a speech outside Downing Street before midday.
Liz Truss will chair her final cabinet at 9am before going to the palace to resign.
YouGov has released new polling suggesting that Keir Starmer is seen as likely to make the best prime minister by voters in three times as many constituencies as Sunak.
That’s all for today. Thanks for following along.
Despite having no popular mandate, he did little to reassure people who are worried sick about rising costs or lengthening NHS waits. The emergency is real. Yet Mr Sunak seems intent on turning off household support for energy bills next April. He plainly thinks that meeting an arbitrary target of reducing national debt is more important than saving people from penury.
Read our editorial on Sunak’s incipient premiership here:
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