After Liz Truss was declared the leader of the Conservative Party on Monday, 5 September, Truss' primary contender, Rishi Sunak, thanked party members for voting for him and urged the Conservatives to unite behind the incoming prime minister.
"It’s right we now unite behind the new PM, Liz Truss, as she steers the country through difficult times," Sunak said in a tweet.
Earlier on Monday, party members elected Truss to be their next leader, effectively making her the next prime minister of the United Kingdom.
She defeated the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, garnering 81,326 Tory votes, compared to his share of 60,399 votes.
Sunak had previously indicated that he would not serve in a government led by Truss. "One thing I have reflected on quite a bit being in government, in cabinet the last few years – you really need to agree with the big things," he had said during an interview with BBC Radio 2.
Truss will become the third female prime minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday and will inherit an economy creeping towards recession, a cost-of-living crisis, a war in Europe (which she was dealing with anyway as foreign secretary), and the immigration question, among other issues.
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