Sheffield residents fear for finances and call for General Election as Rishi Sunak is announced as next PM

Rishi Sunak won the latest Conservative leadership contest with more support from MPs than rival Penny Mordaunt to be appointed as the next UK Prime Minister today, Tuesday, October 25.

Mr Sunak, aged 42, has recognised the huge economic challenge ahead but he has issued a plea for unity and that bringing his disrupted party together will be his priority.

He enters the fray amidst a cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills, high inflation and rising interest rates all on the back of a disastrous scrapped ‘mini-budget’.

Sheffield residents have reacted with concern as opposed to new hope, with worries about the country’s financial position, the recent Conservative track record with three different leaders in seven weeks and calls for a General Election for the public to decide who should take the reins.

Sheffield resident Paul Kitchen said: “Another (not a real) PM the public have not voted in. I just hope he does a good job until the General Election where the public get their say, not that there are many other good options.”

As the UK's first British Asian Prime Minister and the youngest for more than 200 years, Mr Sunak faces a daunting task after former Prime Ministers Boris Johnston resigned over a number of scandals and Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss resigned following a disastrous ‘mini-budget’ during a 45-day term.

Sheffield resident Steve Hunter said: “His most urgent task, together with the Chancellor, will be to calm the financial markets down and get interest rates down. Then energy prices need sorting. Then hopefully inflation and prices will follow. I think he is probably the best chance we have to do that.

“Nothing is guaranteed of course but I could only see another but bigger financial disaster à la Truss if Labour were in power and for the same reason. Trust in their ability to make the books balance.”

A former Chancellor, Mr Sunak, who was first elected as an MP for the constituency of Richmond in North Yorkshire in 2015, said the Conservative Party, trailing Labour in the polls by huge margins, could win the next election by uniting.

City resident James Horten said: “Let us all pray he has the common touch when he makes his financial decisions. I shan't be holding my breath.”

Mr Sunak will be taking office as the third Conservative prime minister since the party won the last General Election in 2019.

Steel City resident Nadia Hussain said: “Nobody else wanted the job. So they got him in. It was hardly a fight. He ain't gonna do nothing for this country. Gotta stick it out for another two years ‘till the Labour Party get voted back in. Bet all you Tory supporters are regretting it now?”

Mr Sunak reportedly ruled out an early General Election as he told Tory MPs on Monday this was going to be a tough time. But he has form for overcoming difficulties after he had been Chancellor in Mr Johnson's government and within weeks of taking the role he took the UK economy through the Covid-19 pandemic.

He quit as Chancellor in July, during a scandalous period for the the government which led to a cabinet mutiny that forced Mr Johnson from office.

Before becoming an MP, Mr Sunak worked in finance and his family's finances came under scrutiny this year when his wife’s tax affairs were investigated.

Some Sheffield residents have raised concerns that Mr Sunak is already a wealthy man and he is not in touch with the real world difficulties currently faced by so many in the UK.

Dan Sharp said: “I wonder why a man worth £730m wants to take a job that pays £164k p.a. His super rich mates are the only beneficiaries here.”

Others including residents Tony Egan and Mandy Hobson still feel a General Election is the best way forward. And as Mr Sunak takes office as the third Conservative Prime Minister since the party won the last general election in 2019, the Labour Party is calling for an early general election.