Sunak confirms UK PM bid as Rees-Mogg says Johnson will run
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirms he is in the race to be the next Conservative leader - and prime minister - saying he wants to "fix our economy".
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg tells the BBC Boris Johnson "will clearly stand" for the party leadership.
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The BBC’s tally of public declarations of support currently has 130 MPs for Sunak, 55 for Johnson and 23 for Penny Mordaunt - candidates need 100 by Monday
Penny Mordaunt tells Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg she regrets Liz Truss's mini-budget and would keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reiterates his call for a general election, adding "any incoming government will have to pick up the mess"
The UK is a great country but we face a profound crisis, says Sunak
Declaring he is running to be the next Conservative Party leader and prime minister after days of speculation, during which he amassed the support of well over 100 MPs, Rishi Sunak the UK is a great country but we face a profound crisis.
In a tweet announcing his candidacy, Sunak writes "the United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis".
Sunak says he can "fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country", and that although "the challenges we face now are even greater" than those posed by the pandemic, "the opportunities - if we make the right choice - are phenomenal".
Promising to deliver on the 2019 manifesto which won the Tories 43.6% of the vote, Sunak says that under him there will be "integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of government".
"The choice our party makes now will decide whether the next generation of British people will have more opportunities than the last," he writes.
Addressing fellow MPs, he writes:
I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems. To lead our party and country forward towards the next general election, confident in our record, firm in our convictions and ready to lead again. from Rishi Sunak
I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems. To lead our party and country forward towards the next general election, confident in our record, firm in our convictions and ready to lead again. - Rishi Sunak
The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 23, 2022
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister.
I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country. pic.twitter.com/BppG9CytAK