Rishi Sunak wins latest round, edges closer to become next British PM

Mangalore Today News Network

London, July 20, 2022: Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak won the fourth round of voting with 118 votes and is leading in the race to replace Boris Johnson as British prime minister and leader of the Conservative party.

In the fourth round of voting for the Tory leadership held on July 19, Rishi Sunak retained his number 1 position and increased his vote share to 118 from 115 in round three, while Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt got 92 votes and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss 86 votes, leaving the race to clinch second place still open.

The three remaining candidates will enter the final round of voting on Wednesday, following which the two remaining will then go canvassing for the support of Tory party members across the country.

The India-origin British MP, who now has the backing of 118 MPs, just shy of the 120-mark or one-third of Conservative Party MPs, has almost booked his place in the final two. The candidate who receives the most votes will be elected the new Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister on September 5.

The race for the British PM post began after multiple scandals and a record number of resignations forced Boris Johnson to step down. Incidentally, Johnson has been urging Tory candidates, who are losing to Sunak, not to back his former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Born in Southampton to a general practitioner father and a pharmacist mother, Rishi Sunak, first became an MP in 2015. He was elected from Richmond, Yorkshire.

Sunak quickly rose through the Conservative party ranks and was appointed to the most important UK Cabinet post - Chancellor of the Exchequer by Johnson in 2020. The minister gained popularity for his economic package to aid businesses and employees as an unprecedented pandemic gripped the country and the world.

However, his massive popularity took a huge hit over his wife’s non-domiciled tax status and the partygate scandal, among other issues.

If Sunak does become the PM of Britain, then he will be the first person of Indian or even Asian origin to hold the post.

Courtesy: India Today