Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin ex-Chancellor of the United Kingdom who lost the race to become the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to Liz Truss on Monday, said it was a “real privilege” to be his country’s finance minister and that “I am proud of my record…”
“It’s a real privilege to have the job that I’ve had, to have been chancellor at a time of enormous difficulty for our country and I am proud of my record as chancellor, helping safeguard our economy through the biggest [pandemic] shock it experienced in something like 300 years,” he said after the result of the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership poll.
Sunak called for Conservative Party unity and urged his supporters to rally behind Truss after losing to him on Monday. He stated that he would support the government led by his opponent, but that he would not serve in the cabinet. Sunak also stated that he ‘needed(ed) to recover’ from what was frequently a heated and divisive competition.
Possible role for Rishi Sunak in Lizz Truss‘ cabinet?
“It is just not something I am thinking about,” Sunak said when asked about a cabinet role.
However, if Sunak is not offered a role in Truss’ cabinet, it will be a break from tradition.
Sunak’s career as parliamentarian
“I’m now going to be focussed on supporting my constituents first and foremost… and continuing to be their Member of Parliament as long as they’ll have me and giving Liz Truss my full support as the new Conservative government gets on with grappling with the challenges ahead of us now,” Sunak said.