UK’s new PM warns of difficult decisions ahead, promises to lead with integrity
Britain’s King Charles III greets PM Rishi Sunak at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday. Pic/AFP
Rishi Sunak made his first speech as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday, acknowledging the mistakes of his predecessor Liz Truss while vowing to fix the economy, lead with integrity and fulfil the promises of the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto.
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“Our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of COVID still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over,” said Sunak shortly after he met King Charles.
“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come.”
Sunak said his predecessor Truss’s intentions were noble. “She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. And I admired her restlessness to create change. But some mistakes were made, not born of ill will, or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact… And I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister, in part to fix them.”
Also Read: Big day, say Indian Americans as Rishi Sunak becomes British PM
On ex-PM Boris Johnson, Sunak said, “I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as prime minister and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit. And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual. It is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us. And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto. I will deliver on its promise.”
Sunk acknowledged that there will be huge challenges. “The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves.”
The new PM said he will earn the people’s trust. “I will unite our country not with words, but with action. I will work day in, and day out to deliver for you. This government will have integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level. Trust is earned and I will earn yours.”
‘Obama moment for British Hindus’
Rishi Sunak becoming UK’s Prime Minister is “our Barack Obama moment”, said the leader of a Hindu temple that was set up by the Indian-origin leader’s grandfather.
The Vedic Society Hindu Temple in Southampton, nearly 110 km from south-west of London, was established by Sunak’s grandfather Ramdas Sunak, in 1971, with his father, Yash, continuing his connection as a trustee during the 1980s, The Independent newspaper reported. Sunak regularly visits the temple in the Hampshire city where he was born and he last attended in July when he provided a meal for worshippers which his family does every year.
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