Following the announcement by Boris Johnson last week of his resignation, several figures have announced their bids to succeed Johnson in the post. Over the weekend, British parliamentary member Rehman Chishti announced his bid to succeed Johnson as the next prime minister.
Chishti announced his bid to become the next prime minister Sunday in a post on Twitter. This comes as Johnson announced last week that he is resigning as the country’s prime minister following several setbacks under his administration and the resignations of several ministers.
“I’m standing to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister. For me, it’s about aspirational conservatism, fresh ideas, fresh team for a fresh start taking our great country forward,” tweeted Chishti.
Former finance minister Rishi Sunak is set to pitch his platform for his prime ministerial bid Tuesday. Sunak was among the ministers who resigned last week,
According to Sunak’s team, the former finance minister is expected to pledge a return to “traditional Conservative values” in an apparent swipe at his rivals who have pledged tax cuts to businesses or personal taxes.
Sunak is one of those favored to succeed Johnson as the next leader of the country’s Conservative Party and the next leader. Sunak’s team said the former minister would be pledging tax breaks once inflation was brought under control.
“I have had to make some of the most difficult choices in my life when I was Chancellor, in particular how to deal with our debt and borrowing after COVID,” Sunak is expected to say. “My message to the party and the country is simple: I have a plan to steer our country through these headwinds. Once we have gripped inflation, I will get the tax burden down. It is a question of ‘when,’ not ‘if.’”
The announcement of the UK’s new prime minister will be taking place on September 5, as the first votes to start eliminating candidates will start this week.
The 1922 Committee of Conservative members of parliament, which organizes the election rules, said candidates would need at least 20 nominations from the 358 members of the party to proceed with the first round of votes on Wednesday.