Economic stability first priority: Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak, poised to become Britain’s next prime minister, told Conservative lawmakers on Monday his first priority was delivering economic stability, and then he would look to fulfill the party’s 2019 election promises, lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith said.

Sunak, who became leader of the Conservatives on Monday, also told lawmakers “every wing” of the party would be in his cabinet, according to a reporter from the Sun.

Sunak, likely to be appointed prime minister by King Charles on Tuesday, told Conservative lawmakers in Westminster the party needed to tackle Britain’s economic challenges after political turbulence hit borrowing costs and pushed mortgage rates higher.

He will also have to work hard to hold Britain’s dominant political party together after some accused him of treachery earlier this year when he resigned from the cabinet of former leader Boris Johnson, triggering a wider rebellion.

Others have accused him of being too rich to understand the day-to-day economic pressures building in Britain, and question whether he could ever win an election for a party that has been in power for 12 years.

“I think this decision sinks us as a party for the next election,” one Conservative lawmaker told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The pound and British government bond prices jumped briefly on news of Sunak’s win but soon returned to their previous levels.