Rishi Sunak gave his first address and has started his Cabinet reshuffle.

Rishi Sunak is officially the UK’s new Prime Minister after winning the Conservative party leader race. He met with King Charles earlier today, pictured shaking hands as a symbol of inauguration, forming a government in His Majesty’s name.

Sunak gave his first speech as PM outside of 10 Downing Street, laying out the road ahead. He said, “Right now, our country is facing a profound economic crisis; the aftermath of COVID still lingers, Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over.”

He paid tribute to predecessor Liz Truss, who resigned after 45 days as PM. He admired her “restlessness to create change,” but acknowledged mistakes were made. He said he has been elected to “fix” the mistakes. Sunak previously lost the Tory leadership contest to Truss, but has now gained the post of Prime Minister following her disastrous six weeks in office, resignation, and the concession of other competitors Penny Mordaunt and former PM Boris Johnson.

“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come.” 

He reminded us of his time as Chancellor under Boris Johnson, saying that we “saw him doing everything he could to protect people and businesses” with measures such as the furlough scheme. He promised he will “bring that same compassion” to today’s challenges, and that his government will not leave the next generation with “a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves”, and that he will unite the country with “actions” not just words.

“This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. Trust is earned, and I will earn yours.” 

He also mentioned the PM he served under, saying, “I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit. And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual. It is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us. And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto. I will deliver on its promise.”

He reaffirmed the commitments of the Conservative’s manifesto: “A stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, levelling up, and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit where businesses invest, innovate and create jobs.”

“I fully appreciate how hard things are. And I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust, after all that has happened. All I can say is that I am not daunted. I know the high office I have accepted and I hope to live up to its demands."

“We will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made, and fill tomorrow and every day thereafter with hope. Thank you.”

Whether Sunak will deliver on any of those promises, which both Johnson and Truss have failed to do, is yet to be seen. Today, the pound was up +1.35% against the dollar and +0.63% on the euro.

Cabinet Reshuffle

As the new PM, Sunak will be choosing a new Cabinet to serve with him. He’s conducted a “cabinet clearout”, and will likely replace supporters of Truss with supporters of his own. 

So far:

• 10 senior Tory MPs left the government this afternoon after serving in Truss’ Cabinet
• This includes Jacob Rees-Mogg who resigned as Business Secretary
• Dominic Raab has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State of Justice. Raab was also deputy PM under Johnson
• Jeremy Hunt has been re-appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was appointed by Liz Truss after the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng.
• Ben Wallace re-appointed as Defence Secretary
• James Cleverly re-appointed as Foreign Secretary
• Nadhim Zahawi appointed Minister without Portfolio, meaning he works with the Cabinet behind the scenes but does not have a formal or specific department
• Simon Hart appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)

The remainder of the Cabinet posts should be announced throughout the day. 

Sunak has made history as both the youngest PM in the last 200 years at age 42, and also the UK’s first British Indian and Hindu PM. He’s been the MP of Richmond (Yorks) since 2015. According to They Work For You, Sunak’s voting record on major policies include:

Tax and Employment

• Voting against cutting VAT on household energy bills
• Consistently voting for reducing capital gains tax
• Generally voted against higher taxes on banks
• Generally voted for raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax
• Consistently voted for more restrictive regulation of trade union activity

Housing and Transport

• Consistently voted for charging a market rent to high earners renting a council home
• Consistently voted for phasing out secure tenancies for life
• Consistently voted against a publicly owned railway system

Home Affairs:

• Generally voted for stricter asylum and stronger enforcement of immigration rules
• Voted for mass surveillance on people’s communications and activities

Health and Environment:

• Voted for reforming the NHS so GPs buy services on behalf of their patients
• Generally voted against measures to prevent climate change
• Voted for greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas in National Parks, the Broads, areas of outstanding natural beauty, World Heritage sites
• Generally voted for new high speed rail infrastructure
• Voted against financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods

Foreign Affairs:

• Consistently voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas
• Voted against investigations into the Iraq war
• Almost always voted against UK membership of the EU and generally voted against more EU integration
• Consistently voted for military action against ISIL (Daesh)
• Generally voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK

Human Rights and Welfare:

• Has never voted on allowing marriage between two people of same sex or equal gay rights
• Generally voted against laws to promote equality and human rights
• Generally voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability
• Almost always voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
• Voted to increase the rates of various tax credits and benefits, including Child Benefit, Working Tax Credits and related payments, by 3.1% in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index

Constitutional Reform:

• Generally voted against a lower voting age
• Generally voted for reducing central government funding of local government and generally voted against more powers for local councils
• Voted against removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords
• Almost always voted against transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament

(Sources: Reuters, The Telegraph, They Work For You)