Rishi Sunak has been announced as Britain's new prime minister, after ex-PM Boris Johnson withdrew from the race on Sunday, leaving Sunak and Penny Mordaunt as the Tory leadership contest's only contenders to replace Liz Truss.
Per BBC News, Sunak officially became the leader of the Conservative Party at approximately 2:00PM BST today (Monday, October 24), after Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, failed to win the 100 nominations from Conservative MPs required to enter the contest and subsequently pulled out.
Sunak's position was strengthened on Monday morning following endorsements by two senior Tories: Michael Gove, the ex-leveling up secretary, and former home secretary Priti Patel.
Welsh secretary Robert Buckland and levelling up secretary Simon Clarke also backed the ex-chancellor of the exchequer.
Former cabinet members Sajid Javid and Gavin Williamson had also voiced their support for Sunak. Meanwhile, Suella Braverman - who resigned as home secretary last week - openly backed Sunak, stating that she believes he offers the stability needed considering the "dire straits" the country has been in of late.
"I need a leader who will put our house in order and apply a steady, careful hand on the tiller. That person, for me, is Rishi Sunak," she wrote in a piece for the Telegraph on Sunday.
As Sunak was the only candidate to attain the backing of 100 MPs, he is expected to receive an invitation from King Charles to form a government, taking the place of current Prime Minister Truss.
Sunak had announced his bid to replace Truss early on Sunday. Later that day, Johnson confirmed he would not be making a return to 10 Downing Street after he was ousted this past summer.
If he does become Britain's next leader, he would be the country's first prime minister of South Asian descent and the first prime minister of color. He was born in Southampton, England, to parents of Indian origin, who moved to the UK from East Africa in the 1960s.
This contest marks the second time in less than half a year that the 42-year-old politician has announced a bid for the role of prime minister. Over the summer, he made it to the final round in the contest to replace Johnson, before ultimately losing to Truss when party members cast their votes.
