Rishi Sunak struck a sombre tone in his first speech as prime minister – saying there were difficult decisions ahead, but that he was “not daunted” by the task at hand.
His first speech took place after he had met with King Charles the III at Buckingham Palace.
His Majesty asked him to form a new Administration as per UK tradition. Mr. Sunak accepted His Majesty’s offer and was appointed Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.
Rishi Sunak highlighted ‘mistakes made’ under Liz Truss during his first speech to the nation as Prime Minister.
The former Chancellor, victorious in his second leadership battle of the year, took to the podium outside No 10.
His speech followed weeks of political turmoil which followed the mini-budget forged by Kwasi Kwarteng and Ms Truss.
Mr Sunak began by paying tribute to his predecessor during his speech, before launching into ‘mistakes made’.
He said: ‘I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Liz Truss. She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country – it is a noble aim.
‘I admired her restlessness to create change – but some mistakes were made.
‘Not born of ill-will or bad intention – quite the opposite in fact.
The ex-Chancellor went on to vow to ‘unite our country not with words but with action’ but warned of further ‘difficult decisions to come’.
He said: ‘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.
‘But when the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness. So, I stand here before you ready to lead our country into the future.’
He will formally take over as prime minister from Liz Truss imminently, most likely on Tuesday, at which point Truss would have served 50 days in the job.
Sunak, the former chancellor who came second in the leadership contest against Truss in the summer, had secured the backing of more than half the parliamentary party by Monday morning.
Sunak, whose parents are of Punjabi Indian heritage, will become the first person of colour to become UK prime minister. He is not the first minority ethnic PM – Benjamin Disraeli, who held the office twice between 1868 and 1880, was of Jewish heritage.
