Rishi Sunak has announced he will step down as Conservative Party leader after Labour won the General Election in a landslide, saying: “I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility.” In his final statement as Prime Minister in Downing Street, Mr Sunak said he will “step down as party leader, not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place”. Speaking outside Number 10 on Friday morning, Mr Sunak delivered his speech with his wife Akshata Murty watching on.
Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was joined by his wife Akshata Murty outside Downing Street (Gareth Fuller/PA) “I will shortly be seeing his majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime Minister. “To the country, I would like to say first and foremost, I am sorry. “I have given this job my all.
But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change, and yours is the only judgment that matters. “I have heard your anger, your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss. “To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly, but without success, I’m sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved.
“It pains me to think how many good colleagues who contributed so much to their communities and our country will now no longer sit in the House of Commons. Mr Sunak will now meet the King as part of the handover of power to Labour under Sir Keir Starmer (Gareth F.