Rishi Sunak announces candidacy for post of UK Prime Minister

Rishi Sunak (Image: Chris McAndrew via Wikimedia Commons 3.0)

Former British Cabinet minister Rishi Sunak said on July 8 that he is "standing to be the next Prime Minister".

He said: “We need to restore trust in our politics. We need to rebuild our economy. And we need to reunite the country.”

In a video post on the website ready4rishi.com, Sunak said: “My family gave me opportunities they could only dream of. But it was Britain, our country, that gave them and millions like them the chance of a better future. I got into politics because I want everyone in this country to have those same opportunities, to be able to give their children a better future.”

He added: “Our country faces huge challenges, the most serious for a generation. And the decisions we make today will decide whether the next generation of British people will also have the chance of a better future.”

The former British finance minister’s announcement came a day after United Kingdom’s ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned from the position.

According to The Independent, Sunak is the biggest heavyweight to join the race after Boris Johnson resigned, with Liz Truss and Jeremy Hunt expected to follow him over the weekend.

Scandal-ridden Boris Johnson announced on Thursday he would quit as British prime minister after he was abandoned by ministers and most of his Conservative lawmakers.

Bowing to the inevitable as more than 50 ministers quit and lawmakers, Johnson said he must go, an isolated and powerless Johnson spoke outside his Downing Street to confirm he would resign.