London: Rishi Sunak, of Indian descent, was officially appointed Prime Minister of the UK by King Charles III on Tuesday (October 25). He then went to 10 Downing Street to deliver his maiden speech as the first prime minister of the country’s Hindu minority. Sunak faces a huge economic and energy challenge that his predecessor Liz Truss could not handle. It had only been six weeks since he lost the top post to Truss, but now the Conservative Party is confident that he will lead the country. In his maiden speech as prime minister, Sunak pledged to build an economy that makes the most of “Brexit opportunities”. While parting ways with Truss, Sunak remained humble, saying he admired her “restlessness to create change” but said she made “mistakes”.
Rishi Sunak’s First Speech as British Prime Minister
He said: “I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss. It was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. It is a noble goal and I admired her restlessness to create change, but some mistakes were made, not born of bad intentions, yet mistakes.”
We will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made and fill with hope tomorrow and every day after: UK Prime Minister #RishiSunak at 10 Downing Street in London pic.twitter.com/za5cTtIAnu — ANI (@ANI) October 25 2022
Sunak cited three core principles of his government: integrity, professionalism and accountability. He said he was eager to gain the trust of British citizens. Following the previous failures of leadership in Britain, there is a great distrust of politicians among ordinary citizens.
But I promise you that I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today. 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: UK Prime Minister #RishiSunak at 10 Downing Street pic.twitter.com/hTLCO8pLOT
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2022
After Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak leads the UK
Rishi Sunak succeeded Liz Truss as prime minister after she resigned due to the massive failure of her economic policy. Ex UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was thought to have returned to the UK from his holiday, decided to withdraw from the race. Sunak was the contender with the most support from Tory leaders and won the PM race. His victory was celebrated as a great day for minority representation in leadership positions. Many world leaders praised the fact that a leader of Indian descent led Britain – a colonizer in the past.