Rishi Sunak speaks in the House of Commons, London, February 3 2022.
©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor
Rishi Sunak is due to become the UK’s next prime minister after an internal election by MPs.
He established himself as the clear leader among Conservative MPs after Liz Truss resigned.
Sunak is set to be the country’s third prime minister in two months.
Rishi Sunak became the UK’s presumptive prime minister on Monday after his only remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, withdrew from the Conservative Party leadership race.
To enter the leadership race, candidates had to secure the nomination of at least 100 of the 357 Conservative MPs by 2 p.m. Monday local time.
At almost exactly that deadline, Mordaunt announced her concession in a tweet, saying “Rishi has my full support.”
Graham Brady, the MP overseeing the contest, confirmed at 2 p.m. that Sunak was the only candidate to amass sufficient support, and therefore would become party leader by default.
As the leader of the largest party in parliament, Sunak is due to be invited by King Charles for form a government, at which point he would officially take office. A change of prime minister in the UK does not automatically prompt an election.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who resigned the post less than five months ago after a string of scandals, had also been in the race, but ruled himself out late on Sunday.
Sunak will be the fifth Conservative prime minister in a row, and the first non-white prime minister of the UK.