Premiership of Rishi Sunak

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Premiership of Rishi Sunak 25 October 2022 – present
Monarch	Charles III
Cabinet	Sunak ministry
Party	Conservative Party
Seat	10 Downing Street
← Liz Truss
Coat of Arms of HM Government

Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 25 October 2022 when he accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss. He is the first British Indian and the first Hindu to hold the office.^[1] As prime minister, Sunak is also serving as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union. His premiership was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, the cost of living crisis and the Rwanda asylum plan.

Having previously served in government as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson, Sunak was defeated by Truss in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election and spent the duration of Truss's premiership as a backbencher. Following Truss's resignation amid a government crisis, Sunak was elected unopposed to succeed her after being the sole nominee in the October 2022 party leadership election.^[2] He was elected Leader of the Conservative Party on 24 October and was appointed prime minister the following day.^[3] In his victory speech, Sunak promised to place economic stability and confidence at the heart of his government's agenda.

As prime minister, Sunak has authorised foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of the country. He and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt have continued the levelling up policy introduced during the premiership of Boris Johnson. In January 2023, Sunak outlined five key priorities, one of which is the Illegal Migration Bill.^[4] In February 2023, Sunak negotiated a proposed agreement with the European Union (EU) on Northern Ireland's trading arrangements which was published as the "Windsor Framework", which is designed to address the issue of the movement of goods between the European single market and the UK in the current Northern Ireland Protocol; the agreement did not receive the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) until February 2024, when the Northern Ireland Executive was restored following further negotiations between the DUP and Sunak's government. In his speech at the October 2023 Conservative Party Conference, Sunak announced the cancellation of the western branch and the remainder of the eastern branch of the planned High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line.^[5][6][7] He has also made the Rwanda asylum plan a key policy of his government, although he said that before the 2024 general election there would be no flights to Rwanda for those seeking asylum. Sunak has reshuffled his Cabinet twice, the latter of which resulted in the return of the former prime minister David Cameron to government.

Under Sunak, the Conservative Party lost over 1,000 councillors during the 2023 local elections, while the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats made significant gains, which were the poorest local election results for the party since the 2019 local elections under Prime Minister Theresa May. His party faced further loses in the 2024 local elections. As the 2024 local elections neared, there were suggestions that Sunak's leadership would be challenged if the results went poorly for his party, particularly if the Conservatives lost either the West Midlands or Tees Valley mayoralties.^[8] Sunak quickly sought to insist to his own MPs that he would still be the Prime Minister after these elections, even if the results were poor for his party.^[9][10] Sunak announced plans for a general election on 22nd May 2024, scheduled for the 4th July, with Parliament being officially dissolved by King Charles III on the 30th May. His announcement received significant media coverage for taking place during heavy rain at a lectern outside 10 Downing Street, without the use of any umbrella or shelter from the rain.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

This article is part of a series about Rishi Sunak
Political positions Electoral history MP for Richmond (Yorks) Chancellor of the Exchequer Chancellorship COVID-19 pandemic government response economic impact lockdown vaccinations contract controversies Eat Out to Help Out Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Partygate Cost-of-living crisis July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis Budgets 2020 March 2021 October 2021 2020 statement Winter Economy Plan Party leadership campaigns First leadership election endorsements Second leadership election endorsements Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership Minister for the Union Ministry 2023 February reshuffle 2023 November reshuffle Industrial disputes postal workers strikes railway strikes NHS strikes 2022 autumn statement War in Ukraine economic impact British aid to Ukraine 2023 visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy War in Israel Windsor Framework 2023 budget Lockdown Files Coronation of Charles III and Camilla 2023 AI Safety Summit UK Covid-19 Inquiry 2023 State Opening of Parliament 2023 autumn statement Rwanda asylum plan Post Office scandal 2024 budget International trips 2024 United Kingdom general election
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