Rishi Sunak to Become Next UK Prime Minister:
After the short stint of Liz Truss, a new UK prime minister is ready to assume office.
Rishi Sunak, former head of the UK Treasury, won a vote to become the leader of the Conservative Party and thus the next prime minister, the Associated Press reported Monday. At the age of 42, Sunak will be one of the youngest prime ministers. He will also be the first person of color and the first Hindu to hold the office. His family is of Indian descent.
Sunak was the runner-up to Truss when she became prime minister on Sept. 5 and replaced Boris Johnson, who had resigned. Johnson was in the running to return to office after Truss' resignation last week. But he dropped out Sunday, enabling Sunak to become Conservative Party leader.
Sunak served as head of Treasury -- formally known as chancellor of the Exchequer -- under Johnson from February 2020 to July 2022. He resigned his office two days before Johnson stepped down.
He will be the UK's third prime minister in 2022. To avoid a fourth one, Sunak will need to outlast an onion.
Clarification at 8:55 a.m. PT: Sunak will be one of the youngest UK prime ministers.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @06:34PM
Queen Vicky is rollin' in her grave.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday October 24 2022, @06:53PM (17 children)
Factually correct, and of absolutely no importance, as it adds nothing at all to the story. The guy might be colored, he wasn't elected. So what does it prove? It's not an achievement. He's also godawful and completely incompetent, That's the real story: another unelected incompetent dude makes it to number 10. The indian descent and skin color bits just show the writer's prejudice.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Monday October 24 2022, @07:06PM (8 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @08:53PM
I'm not sure I agree. I don't think this is a good example of that because typically people as wealthy has him don't run into very many glass ceilings, or not many they can't get around.
(Score: 5, Funny) by choose another one on Monday October 24 2022, @09:12PM (4 children)
Well yeah, except for the glass ceiling at the top of the main opposition party, i.e. Labour, which has never chosen anything other than white male as leader.
It wouldn't really matter (well, if you are white male) except that it's Labour who bang on about diversity, implement quota systems to (un)bias selections etc., meanwhile the Tories just got on with not giving a shit what sex colour or creed you are as long as your politics are right. Turns out not-giving-a-shit gives you much more actual diversity at the top way before the positive-discrimination quota-junkies, who now look quite silly banging on about diversity as a result.
(Score: 3, Touché) by driverless on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:15AM (2 children)
Well, for some very odd definition of "right" anyway.
Maybe that's why they've got that level of diversity, you really need to cast the net pretty wide to find enough people to engage in that level of crazy.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:35AM
Last time around it was Johnson or Corbyn. To which level of crazy are you referring?
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Tuesday October 25 2022, @07:20AM
Traditionally politics is right or left or centre, I'm curious, where exactly do you think the Tories are, on the left of you?
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @10:54AM
And who's electing the labour lead? The labour party's disproportionally asian in makeup, just check the numbers - about twice the proportion of asian MPs compared to the conservatives. So apparently this party simultaniously hates asians and loves them.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by helel on Tuesday October 25 2022, @02:17PM (1 child)
They're just shoving him off the glass cliff. "We're in a tailspin, quick, we need a scapegoat to blame everything on!" It lets them check the "diversity" box and sets them up to say "those people don't make good leaders" next time. Win win!
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @08:46PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Informative) by tizan on Monday October 24 2022, @08:15PM (2 children)
ah he is elected ...he is an elected member of parliament MP since 2015. This is parliamentarian system for you...Any MP of the party that has the majority can become PM. In fact when voting in an election the people do not vote for a Prime Minister they vote for their local MP...then these people select who will lead them. This is similar to calling Pelosi as not being an elected leader of the House...which is correct in a sense as people for for their local representative...then who they pick as leader is their choice ...not the people.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday October 24 2022, @09:15PM (1 child)
I didn't know that, thanks. Sounds very similar to our (US's) Electoral College [wikipedia.org] who actually vote for our president. The big difference being the Electoral College is otherwise not involved in government, in fact (from the Wiki linked article): "Federal office holders, including senators and representatives, cannot be electors."
(Score: 3, Informative) by Mykl on Monday October 24 2022, @09:26PM
As GP said a much better analogy for the US is the Leader of the House. They, just like all other House members, are elected by their local constituents. It's the party that then decides who will be House Leader out of those elected members, not the voters.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @08:52PM (1 child)
No, it's the designated distraction from his politics as a conservative, and possibly his loyalties. Civilization has taken a big step backwards. Even the Magna Carta is in danger.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @11:21PM
Britain is economically a 3rd world basket case now so it's proper that they have someone familiar with ruling over a shithole.
(Score: 0, Troll) by legont on Tuesday October 25 2022, @12:30AM (1 child)
He married into money - billions - and his wife's father bought his political carrier. Here is the punch line. Cheating is in Indian's national character.
Punch line number two. One way or another, Indians will get even with Brits. Punch line number three. It's good for everybody, but Brits.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 25 2022, @04:22AM
Oh come now, it's good for some Brits. Particularly those who kept their money in offshore bank accounts in other currencies. They are making a killing!
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:08AM
Beaten only by Pitt the Even Younger, Pitt the Toddler, Pitt the Embryo, and Pitt the Glint in the Milkman's Eye. Poo to you with knobs on!
(Score: 3, Informative) by FatPhil on Monday October 24 2022, @07:03PM (11 children)
"""
Prerogative powers
Legislature
The power to dissolve parliament is "perhaps the most important residual prerogative exercised personally by the sovereign, and represents the greatest potential for controversy."[15] This prerogative is normally exercised at the request of the prime minister, either at his or her discretion or following a motion of no confidence. Constitutional theorists have had differing views as to whether a unilateral dissolution of Parliament would be possible today; Sir Ivor Jennings wrote that a dissolution involves "the acquiescence of ministers", and as such the monarch could not dissolve Parliament without ministerial consent; "if ministers refuse to give such advice, she can do no more than dismiss them". A. V. Dicey, however, believed that in certain extreme circumstances the monarch could dissolve Parliament single-handedly, on the condition that "an occasion has arisen on which there is fair reason to suppose that the opinion of the House is not the opinion of the electors ... A dissolution is allowable, or necessary, whenever the wishes of the legislature are, or may fairly be presumed to be, different from the wishes of the nation."[16]
"""
Nobody apart from dyed-in-the-wool Conservatives want the Conservatives in power, and there's reasonable evidence to support the idea that the dyed-in-the-wool Conservatives are undergoing a mass hallucination of competence, or perhaps just senility.
Time for Charles to show he cares for his country, IMHO.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @07:46PM
Given the lifetime payments Truss is going to get for 44 days in the job, they may just be tackling poverty one conservative politician at a time.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @09:48PM
One of many possible factors you haven't considered, which is sadly fading and going out of vogue: wisdom.
(Score: 5, Touché) by Thexalon on Tuesday October 25 2022, @03:13AM
Here's the reason Charles III is unlikely to intervene: While in theory he has the power to dissolve Parliament, refuse Royal Assent to any bill that passes the Commons, and command the UK armed forces, in practice if he actually does so there's a very real risk that his powers will be curtailed even further or the monarchy might be dissolved entirely. His mother taught him very well that the survival of the monarchy depends on them not appearing to have any actual political power (when in fact they still hold quite a bit).
Also, if you know your UK history, you'll also know that trying to oppose Parliament doesn't end well for monarchs named "Charles".
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:46AM (5 children)
To use the Royal Prerogative, practically there would need to be some major constitutional breach. As it is the MPs are doing what we asked i.e. they are electing the Prime Minister who can command a majority in the House of Commons. You may not like the current crop of MPs, but they were elected properly and are duly getting on with it.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @10:59AM (4 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @11:58AM (3 children)
Yes, but nonetheless we elect our MPs for a 5 year stint. Labour or Tories can't get an election just because they don't like the lot that were elected last time, unless they have majority in parliament. That's the deal.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @01:32PM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @02:38PM (1 child)
Sure, but it is the MPs who get to choose. That's the "constitution", in so far as UK has one. I found the link below quite interesting. I didn't realise that the 2011 fixed term bill had been repealed (and was only vaguely aware that it came into existence, most of my knowledge of parliament comes from studying the 18th century history).
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/general/ [parliament.uk]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @08:50PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Interesting) by theluggage on Tuesday October 25 2022, @11:09AM (1 child)
Sunak - love him or loathe him - appears to have been chosen fair and square by the parliamentary party and all the usual Tory gang leaders pinky-promise that they will support him, so I don't think its time for the King to start playing with his prerogative just yet (which is probably a one-shot weapon that will be taken away once its been used & I don't thing Charles III wants to become the Liz Truss of monarchs).
If we're back here again in a few weeks then that time might yet come... since that would be the third strike for the tories being unable to pick a leader with the support of MPs and I think the King would then have pretty solid public support for calling time. Although it would be more likely that the outgoing PM in such circumstances would ask for a dissolution themselves as soon as they got a whisper that it was on the cards.
I think this may have been what Johnson was alluding to when he said that he was in a position to avert a general election (by not running - although maybe hd just didn't have the nominations). The likely scenario there was that he'd get just enough nominations to scrape onto the ballot, come poor second in the MPs vote but get elected by the party membership without actually having the majority support of Tory MPs. Pretty much what already happened with Liz Truss - with a similar outcome - plus the added spice of the standards committee hearing.
Anyway, calling a GE now would just cause another 6 weeks of circus and government paralysis, which has been the situation for most of this year, and still wouldn't guarantee a stable outcome (whatever you personally think that might be). I wouldn't support Sunak normally but I think he should be capable of pissing on some of the fires that Truss started and not doing anything quite so batshit insane.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @11:36AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 24 2022, @08:27PM (1 child)
Can we get Kemi Badenoch instead after 45 days?
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Monday October 24 2022, @09:15PM
Not her time yet. She is formidable and Labour should be well scared of her, but she's not ready yet. Few more years is probably all you need to wait though
(Score: 4, Funny) by Subsentient on Tuesday October 25 2022, @05:11AM (3 children)
When Boris Johnson was ousted, I took a brief look at the contenders for the next PM, and said "Rishi Sunak seems like the scummiest one, so I bet he'll get the job".
Liz Truss got the job.
Well, she didn't last long. Guess who got her job? I was close, I guess.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:40AM (2 children)
> Rishi Sunak seems like the scummiest one
Why do you say that?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by FatPhil on Tuesday October 25 2022, @11:03AM (1 child)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Informative) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @04:23PM
Technically his wife, but point taken:
https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2022/10/24/sunaks-loopholes/ [taxpolicy.org.uk]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Tuesday October 25 2022, @07:56AM
He seems to me to have a moderate politics, which is a good place to be. He has a tough job, and with the prospect of almost certainly losing the next election.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday October 25 2022, @06:47PM
With three PMs in such a short time, Britain is starting to look an awful lot like Italy.
What's going on? I know Britain held two plebiscites that supported leaving the EU, but don't really examine British domestic politics very much. What are the deep issues driving all the political turmoil? Is it the unfolding consequences of post-Imperial life, or something else?
Washington DC delenda est.