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Rishi Sunak

New Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (centre) and her husband Hamish (right) and Conservative Party leader candidate Robert Jenrick (left) following the party’s new leader announcement in London, Britain, on Saturday. Badenoch succeeds Rishi Sunak. Photo: EPA-EFE

Badenoch elected new leader of UK Conservative Party

Badenoch came out on top in the two-horse race with former immigration minister Robert Jenrick with 57 per cent of the vote.

2 Nov 2024 - 8:17PM

Opinion | Britain’s China policy needs an additional ‘C’

23 Oct 2024 - 5:52PM

Alex Salmond, ex-first minister who sought Scotland’s independence, dies at 69

13 Oct 2024 - 2:21AM

Conservative leadership candidates grapple over immigration, winning votes

Most say the new leader must end infighting after fourteen years in power ended in a crushing July election defeat and Labour landslide.

29 Sep 2024 - 6:20PM

Two of Britain’s main opposition Conservative Party leadership candidates, Robert Jenrick (L) and Kemi Badenoch (R), Photo: AFP

Exclusive | Peter Mandelson on why Britain’s sudden U-turn on China was a big ‘mistake’

The close Starmer adviser says ‘violent’ shifts in diplomatic direction are not realistic or sensible.

26 Sep 2024 - 6:40PMvideocam

UK’s Starmer rules out austerity as Labour conference opens

The four-day gathering in Liverpool comes three months after Labour secured a runway general election victory over the Conservatives.

22 Sep 2024 - 6:49PM

UK’s Peter Mandelson says China should meet London’s willingness to mend ties

Beijing also described as better positioned than most countries to broker peace in Ukraine war, but its economic nationalism is a concern.

18 Sep 2024 - 1:05AMvideocam

Peter Mandelson, a former British trade secretary, is believed to be close to Keir Starmer, the country’s new prime minister. Photo: AFP

UK PM Keir Starmer urges European allies to meet far-right ‘challenge’

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he fears a rise of the far-right in Britain and suggested progressive parties across Europe should jointly fight populism.

29 Aug 2024 - 3:24PMvideocam

Starmer to warn of tough times ahead in first major speech as UK PM

Starmer, whose Labour Party was elected on July 4, is expected to use Tuesday’s speech to ramp up attacks on legacy left by Conservatives.

26 Aug 2024 - 5:50AMvideocam

New UK government cuts billions of pounds of spending to fix ‘unsustainable’ finances

Finance minister Rachel Reeves announces spending cuts of US$7 billion, pencils in further cuts of US$10.4 billion and hints at tax rises.

30 Jul 2024 - 3:55AMvideocam

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on Monday. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Un-purr-turbed: Larry the cat training another UK prime minister in Downing Street

British prime ministers come and go at the premier’s official residence, 10 Downing Street. But the real power remains unchanged – Larry the cat.

29 Jul 2024 - 4:49PM

Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, is training his sixth prime minister. Photo: AP

Patel and Badenoch launch UK Conservative Party leadership bids

Priti Patel and Kemi Badenoch join 4 others, including former home secretary James Cleverly, in race to replace Rishi Sunak as party leader.

29 Jul 2024 - 11:25AMvideocam

UK Conservatives planned to spend US$13 billion on Rwanda migrant scheme: minister

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament the Rwanda plan, now scrapped, has already cost taxpayers US$905 million.

23 Jul 2024 - 7:40AM

Rwanda says UK migrant deal did not stipulate return of funds

London paid Kigali US$306 million before new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared the deportation scheme ‘dead and buried’.

10 Jul 2024 - 12:21PM

A facility in Kigali, Rwanda, that was meant to accommodate migrants deported from the UK. File photo: AFP

Rwanda aware of UK’s intention to terminate contentious deportation scheme

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Saturday that the UK’s Rwanda deportation plan was ‘dead and buried’.

9 Jul 2024 - 10:23AM

Immigration has become an increasingly central political issue since the UK left the European Union in 2020. File photo: AFP

Starmer seeks ‘reset’ on tour of UK nations after election victory

Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to ‘work constructively’ with Scotland’s nationalist government as he began a trip aimed at improving ties between London and the UK’s devolved nations.

8 Jul 2024 - 4:53PM

UK to demand Indian-owned Tata saves jobs at Wales steelworks: minister

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he and PM Keir Starmer have spoken to Tata over firm’s plan to shut down blast furnaces at the plant – a move that puts 2,800 jobs at risk.

8 Jul 2024 - 1:51PM

Inside Out | Britain’s election shows Hong Kong the flaws and strengths of democracy

The results of the 2024 UK general election have humbled the Conservative Party, but also put on display some of the quirks of the democratic process.

7 Jul 2024 - 8:30PM

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer greets supporters in London on July 5 after the Labour Party’s landslide victory which ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Photo: Bloomberg

New UK PM Starmer assembles cabinet for first meeting: ‘now we get to work’

His new government takes on the massive challenge of fixing a heap of domestic woes and winning over a public weary from years of austerity, political chaos and a battered economy.

6 Jul 2024 - 7:51PM

Opinion | Labour’s landslide victory has ushered in a new dawn in British politics

Having come to power on the back of big promises of change, Labour will look to capitalise on the disorientation of Conservatives to deliver.

5 Jul 2024 - 9:10PM

Who is the UK’s new ‘first lady’ and why was she compared to Kate Middleton?

Victoria Stamer is vegetarian, volunteered for Tony Blair, and the first thing she reportedly said about the new prime minister included dropping the F-bomb

8 Jul 2024 - 12:28PM

Who is UK’s first lady-to-be Victoria Starmer? The wife of Labour leader Keir Starmer works for NHS and went to a Taylor Swift concert with the incoming prime minister – but why was she compared to Kate Middleton? Photo: Reuters

As it happened: Keir Starmer appointed UK prime minister as Labour takes power

Keir Starmer pledged ‘change begins now’ after leading Britain’s Labour Party to a historic election victory.

5 Nov 2024 - 5:27PM

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Labour Party leader Keir Starmer celebrates victory early Friday. Photo: AP

Starmer’s Labour tipped for historic election win as UK voters go to the polls

Jaded Britons are delivering their verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power since 2010.

4 Jul 2024 - 9:22PM

UK election: major tabloid The Sun backs Labour over Sunak’s Tories

The last time the influential Murdoch-owned newspaper endorsed the party was during Tony Blair’s tenure from 1997.

4 Jul 2024 - 1:45AM

Opinion | Don’t expect a Labour government to fix broken Britain

Failed post-Brexit promises, successive scandals and poor economic gambles have allowed populism to threaten Britain’s political system.

3 Jul 2024 - 8:30PM

Amid rising living costs, will UK’s Indian diaspora back ex-poster boy Sunak?

Dissatisfaction with rising living costs and economic stagnation could see the PM lose his seat, as Indian diaspora joins anti-Tory wave.

2 Jul 2024 - 6:18PM

Britain’s Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak at a campaign event in London on June 30. The UK general election is on July 4. Photo: AFP

In final days before the UK election, defiant Sunak insists he can stay in power

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted the Conservatives can still win Thursday’s UK election despite multiple polls pointing to a commanding victory by the opposition Labour Party.

1 Jul 2024 - 11:27AM

UK PM Sunak slams racist slur by Farage party campaigner

An undercover investigation filmed anti-immigration Reform UK campaigners making racist, homophobic and offensive comments.

29 Jun 2024 - 2:27AMvideocam

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Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak was elected leader of Britain's Conservative Party on October 23, 2022, following the resignation of his predecessor, Liz Truss. He is the country's first prime minister of Asian heritage. Sunak had previously worked as Chancellor of the Exchequer from February 2020 to July 2022 under Boris Johnson. Sunak resigned, along with 61 other members of Johnson's government, after the then-PM became embroiled in a series of scandals.

Born

12 May 1980

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Former Prime Minister of Britain

last updated:

7 October, 2024