Sunak tells U.K. Tories to unite as he strives to fix 'crisis'

Rishi Sunak called on his warring Conservative Party to unite as the U.K.’s incoming prime minister bids to fix the crisis facing the economy.

Speaking less than an hour after emerging victorious in the race to succeed Liz Truss as premier, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer said his party needs to come together after ousting two prime ministers this year, according to a lawmaker present at Sunak’s address to MPs behind closed doors on Monday.

Sunak spoke shortly after his last remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, pulled out of the race for 10 Downing Street, urging her party to “unite and work together for the good of the nation.” That meant there was no need for a runoff vote among grassroots party members.

It is a remarkable turnaround in Sunak’s political fortunes, after the former Chancellor of the Exchequer quit Boris Johnson’s government in July and then lost out to Truss in the last Tory leadership contest over the summer. But his repeated warnings that her plans would trigger economic chaos proved correct and put him in pole position when Truss’s premiership imploded.