New PM Rishi Sunak challenged to 'deliver for West Midlands'

The former Chancellor has entered Number 10 as last man standing in a leadership contest which saw Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt pull out.

He becomes the first British Asian Prime Minister and has landed the top job after being rejected by Conservative Party members for Liz Truss last month.

Mr Sunak was due to officially become PM this morning. He has pledged to unite his party, although his rise to leader was opposed by a number of Tory MPs in the Black Country and Staffordshire.

He said: "We now need stability and unity. And I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together."

Tories today challenged the new PM to deliver for the West Midlands, while Labour said he had "no mandate" to govern and should call a general election.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said the challenges facing Mr Sunak were "daunting". "He and his team will have my full support as would any leader at this difficult time," he added.

"I will continue to champion the priorities of the West Midlands and stand ready to work constructively with the new Government to deliver for local people."

Dudley North MP Marco Longhi, who backed Mr Johnson for leader, said: "The new PM is a corporate financier. He needs to win over the trust of the people and deliver for the West Midlands. Actions will speak louder than words."

Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden, Labour's Shadow Secretary of the Treasury, said it was time to put an end to the "chaos" in British politics, which was largely down to the "disastrous" mini-budget and "faction fighting" among Tory MPs.

"The party that brought all this chaos can’t be the party that resolves it," he said. "That’s why an election sooner rather than later and a change of Government is the right way to bring stability back to politics and to the economy and the best way to restore our international standing."

Ninder Johal, deputy lieutenant for the West Midlands, said Mr Sunak becoming PM heralded "a remarkable day for ethnic minorities in this country". "It shows that irrespective of how you dress, how you speak and how you look, the UK is a place where you can excel and reach your potential," he said.

"The fact we now have a British Indian as Prime Minister is testament to what a great country we live in."

Mr Sunak, the MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, first entered parliament seven years ago. He succeeded Ms Truss after her premiership ended in resignation after just 44 days.

As Chancellor he oversaw the Government's economic response to the coronavirus pandemic, before quitting in July in opposition to Mr Johnson's leadership.