Newly-appointed British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that he has been elected to fix some of the "mistakes" made by his predecessor as he promised to place "economic stability and confidence" at the heart of his government's agenda.
A new survey of Conservative Party members, who will be casting their ballots to pick the new Tory leader to succeed Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister, on Wednesday shows a widening lead for Foreign Secretary Liz Truss over Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest.
Johnson, 58, had been under investigation by a parliamentary inquiry looking into whether he misled the House of Commons about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson echoed a statement issued by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Parliament earlier this week to add that the government continues to invest in its relationship with India.
Some believe that, as prime minister, Sunak will be particularly friendly to India and that he would return the Kohinoor and do similar gestures to his motherland. Such wishful thinking is not likely to materialise as he will act in the best interests of the UK and will not even appear to favour India, argues Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, held 3.89 crore shares, or 0.93 per cent, of Infosys at the end of September, according to company filings with the stock exchanges.
Even before Boris Johnson stepped out of 10 Downing Street on Thursday to deliver his resignation speech as Conservative Party leader and triggering a leadership race for a new British prime minister, at least one Indian-origin candidate is already lined up to compete for the "best job in the world".
With Rishi Sunak now firmly placed as the candidate to beat, the battle lines are drawn for second place in the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister, with the remaining five contenders set for their first public clash on Friday.
In a big blow to embattled British Prime Minister Johnson, two of his senior Cabinet colleagues, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, resigned on Tuesday, as they expressed their loss of confidence in his leadership amidst a spate of scandals.
While Sunak has maintained a dignified silence over the recent crisis, his supporters have not lost any opportunity to point out how the former finance minister had got the economic forecasts right.
Rishi Sunak on Wednesday clinched his place for the final leg of the race to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of Britain's Conservative party and prime minister, and will go head-to-head with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
Rishi Sunak on Wednesday clinched his place for the final leg of the race to succeed Boris Johnson and will go head-to-head with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as one of two finalists to take charge as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister.
Sunak joins fellow Indian-origin candidate Suella Braverman, the UK Attorney General who is among the early Tory MPs to announce her plan to contest.
In another move aimed at continuity, James Cleverly will stay in his post as Foreign Secretary despite not being a Sunak loyalist.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a triple blow following crushing defeats for his Conservative Party in two important by-elections that also prompted the resignation of the party's chairman and one of his close allies, raising another major challenge to the embattled premier's leadership.
Rishi Sunak rushed to the side of a television host after she fainted live on air during a UK prime ministerial election debate, which was cancelled mid-way through.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the strategic Indo-Pacific region and standing up to competitors with "robust pragmatism". Delivering his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet on Monday evening, the British Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world. He also pledged to "do things differently" far removed from the so-called "golden era" with China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests.
There was no clear winner between former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday after the UK's prime ministerial candidates went head-to-head in their first television debate as finalists and clashed fiercely on their economic policies and tax plans.
Meet Sudha Murty and N R Narayana Murthy's daughter whose husband Rishi Sunak is the frontrunner to be Britain's next prime minister.
The 42-year-old British Indian MP for Richmond in Yorkshire maintains his lead in the race to replace Boris Johnson as nominations formally opened for the contest.
Under constant attack from within his own Conservative party and the Opposition Labour party since the start of 2022, the war in Ukraine has come to Boris's rescue.
The 42-year-old barrister, who until now served as the Attorney General in the Boris Johnson led government, was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister.
Former UK chancellor Rishi Sunak is closing the gap to catch up with rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in the race to 10 Downing Street, with only five points separating the two in a latest poll of the Conservative Party members on Tuesday.
Sunak's grandparents originated from British India but their birthplace Gujranwala lies in modern day Pakistan's Punjab province.
211 Conservative Party members of Parliament voted in favour of Johnson staying on as their leader.
The British government has strongly defended the BBC and its editorial freedom in Parliament after the Income-Tax department's survey operations on the United Kingdom-headquartered media corporation's New Delhi and Mumbai offices over three days last week.
"I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected," she said speaking outside Downing Street.
Conservative Party leader Liz Truss was on Tuesday formally appointed as Britain's new Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the third female premier of the country.
Rishi Sunak, the former UK chancellor of the exchequer, on Friday formally launched his leadership bid to succeed Boris Johnson as the new Conservative Party leader and future British prime minister.
Her intervention comes just days after her dramatic exit from Cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code and a scathing attack on Truss' leadership.
Britain's prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak has said he wants to change the UK-India relationship to make it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India.
Accompanied by her husband Hugh O'Leary and two daughters, Britain's shortest-serving Prime Minister ended her tenure by trying to strike an optimistic tone as she said that brighter days lie ahead.
Labour Leader Keir Starmer told a gathering of hundreds of British Indians that he was determined to put an end to 'divisive politics' and extremist elements exploiting social media to spread hatred within communities.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK government remains committed to working "as quickly as possible" towards a successful conclusion to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, as the majority of the substantive negotiation conversations were completed at the end of last month. At a House of Commons session on the G20 Summit in Indonesia on Thursday, the British Indian leader updated Parliament that he reviewed progress on the FTA during his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since taking charge at 10 Downing Street. He was questioned by Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer and his own Conservative Party MPs on the timeline for the completion of the agreement with India.
He said the answer to the Congress' current challenges lies in a combination of effective leadership and organisational reforms.
The 42-year-old frontrunner's tally continues to grow as former prime minister Boris Johnson flies back from his Caribbean holiday to reportedly also join the contest.
The 42-year-old is holding a solid 55 per cent lead with the Oddschecker betting odds aggregator, followed by a 29 per cent chance of former prime minister Boris Johnson making a comeback. Third placed in what is emerging as a three-way contest is Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, who had polled third in the first round of parliamentary votes to shortlist candidates for the last leadership race.
According to reports, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping as Head of State of a country with which the UK has diplomatic relations.
The poll found that among those who voted for the Conservatives at the last election, 62 per cent said that party members had made the wrong choice when the race was shortlisted between Truss and Sunak.
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has met with local police officers and Hindu and Muslim community leaders in Leicester and assured them that thugs behind the recent violent clashes would face the full force of the law.
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