Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024 and Leader of the Conservative Party (2022–2024)
Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 2022 to the 2024 general election; he will resign as Leader of the Conservative Party once arrangements for selecting his successor have been confirmed. Earlier, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Second Johnson ministry from 2020 to July 2022, being appointed following the resignation of Sajid Javid in February 2020. Sunak has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond in Yorkshire since 2015. He is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of the co-founder of Infosys.
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Good morning, I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime Minister. To the country, I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry. I have given this job my all. But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgement that matters. I have heard your anger, your disappointment; and I take responsibility for this loss. To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success, I am sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved. It pains me to think how many good colleagues, who contributed so much to their communities and our country, will now no longer sit in the House of Commons. I thank them for their hard work, and their service. Following this result, I will step down as party leader, not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place. It is important that after 14 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds, but also that it takes up its crucial role in Opposition professionally and effectively. When I first stood here as your Prime Minister, I told you the most important task I had was to return stability to our economy. Inflation is back to target, mortgage rates are falling, and growth has returned. We have enhanced our standing in the world, rebuilding relations with allies, leading global efforts to support Ukraine, and becoming the home of the new generation of transformative technologies. And our United Kingdom is stronger too: with the Windsor Framework, devolution restored in Northern Ireland, and our Union strengthened. I’m proud of those achievements. I believe this country is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 20 months ago. And it is more prosperous, fairer, and resilient than it was in 2010. Whilst he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. In this job, his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well. Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man, who I respect. He and his family deserve the very best of our understanding, as they make the huge transition to their new lives behind this door, and as he grapples with this most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world. I would like to thank my colleagues, my Cabinet, the Civil Service - especially here in Downing Street, the team at Chequers, my staff, CCHQ, but most of all I would like to express my gratitude to my wife Akshata and our beautiful daughters. I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they have made so that I might serve our country. One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is, that two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister and that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali candles on the steps in Downing Street. We must hold true to that idea of who we are, that vision of kindness, decency, and tolerance that has always been the British way. This is a difficult day, at the end of a number of difficult days. But I leave this job honoured to have been your Prime Minister. This is the best country in the world and that is thanks entirely to you, the British people, the true source of all our achievements, our strengths, and our greatness. Thank you."
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[On the Commons Privileges Committee investigation into Boris Johnson] This committee was established under the former Prime Minister. It commanded the confidence of the house [of Commons] at the time and I’m sure that they have done their work thoroughly and I respect them for that.
This is a matter for the house rather than the government, that's an important distinction and that is why I wouldn't want to influence anyone in advance of that vote.
It will be up to each and every individual MP to make a decision of what they want to do when the time comes, it's important the government doesn't get involved in that because it is a matter for parliament and members as individuals, not as members as government.
We must be honest about the fact that even once Parliament has changed the law here at home, we could still face challenges from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
I told Parliament earlier today that I'm prepared to change our laws and revisit those international relationships to remove the obstacles in our way.
So let me tell everybody now, I will not allow a foreign court to block these flights.
If the Strasbourg court chooses to intervene against the expressed wishes of Parliament, I am prepared to do what is necessary to get flights off. I will not take the easy way out.
[Asking if he would be visiting Scotland on the day of the interview using a private jet] I’ll be flying as I normally would and that is the most efficient use of my time. [...]
But again I think actually that question brings to life a great debate here. If you or others think that the answer to climate change is getting people to ban everything that they're doing, to stop people flying, to stop people going on holiday, I think that's absolutely the wrong approach.
The 80th anniversary of D-Day has been a profound moment to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our values, our freedom and our democracy. This anniversary should be about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The last thing I want is for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics. After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer - and I apologise.
For too long, people have put up with the scourge of antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhoods. These are not minor crimes. They disrupt people's daily lives, hold businesses back and erode the sense of safety and community that brings people together. That's why I'm bringing forward a new plan to crack down on this behaviour once and for all – so that everyone can feel proud of where they live.
We're living through a time at the moment where inflation is high. That's having an impact on household and families' bills. I don't want to add that, I want to make it easier.
So yes, we're going to make progress towards net zero but we're going to do that in a proportionate and pragmatic way that doesn't unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives – that's not what I'm interested in and prepared to do.
And where the ECHR is an obstacle, I will tackle it. We voted to Leave [the EU] so that we could act as a sovereign nation. The ECHR cannot inhibit our ability to properly control our borders and we shouldn't let it. We need to inject a healthy dose of common sense into the system, and that is what my plan does.
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In our politics, we can argue vigorously, as the prime minister and I did over the past six weeks, but still respect each other, and whatever disputes we have in this parliament, I know that everyone in this house will not lose sight of the fact that we are all motivated by our desire to serve our constituents, our country, and advance the principles that we honourably believe in.