UK PM race narrows down to 8 candidates; Rishi Sunak still favourite

The stakes in the race for the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister has toughened as the number of candidates has dropped to eight from the previous 11 in just one day.

However, Indian-origin Rishi Sunak still leads the league. The diverse mix of candidates from varied origins presents a sneak peek into new evolving Britain.

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THE CULTURAL MIX
Of the eight candidates, four are of British origin — former health and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, Minister of State for trade Penny Mordaunt, former chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat, and foreign secretary Liz Truss.

Of the other four, two are of Indian origin — former chancellor of exchequer Rishi Sunak and Attorney General Suella Braverman — Nigerian descent Kemi Badenoch, and Iraq-born Kurdish-origin Nadhim Zahawi, who is currently serving as the chancellor of the exchequer.

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It’s a 50-50 mix and definitely points to the evolving British society.

Rishi Sunak, who formally launched his campaign on July 12, is back to the top of the bookies’ chart, leaving Penny Mordaunt behind. His win will surely endorse the face of changing Britain as, if selected, he would be the first Asian to be the UK’s PM.

While the conservative Tories were busy choosing their leader, the Labour Party on Tuesday called for a no-confidence motion.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer was against the idea of Boris Johnson “clinging on for a few months” to the post of the PM despite resigning, and thus, called for a vote of no confidence.

His motion text said: “This House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government while the Rt Hon Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip remains Prime Minister.”