West Midlands Mayor Andy Street backs Rishi Sunak as new Prime Minister - here’s why

Mayor Andy Street has pledged his support for Rishi Sunak as he takes on the “daunting” challenges as the new UK Prime Minster.

The West Midlands Mayor said he will continue to champion the region and work with the new Government for people in this area. In the race to replace Boris Johnson, Mr Street backed Liz Truss in her successful campaign which fell apart after just 44 days with the country plunged into an economic crisis.

Following her resignation, Mr Street said he didn’t regret backing Mrs Truss - but did regret how things turned out during her short premiership. Mr Sunak was confirmed as the new Prime Minster by King Charles on Tuesday (October 25) after his nearest rival in the Conservative Party leadership contest Penny Mordaunt conceded.

His appointment means he has become the first British Asian Prime Minister in the country’s history. Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “The parliamentary party has spoken and they have spoken decisively. Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on becoming the party leader and Prime Minister.

“The challenges facing him are daunting. He and his team will have my full support as would any leader at this difficult time. I will continue to champion the priorities of the West Midlands and stand ready to work constructively with the new Government to deliver for local people.”

Southampton-born Sunak became chancellor under Boris Johnson’s premiership in February 2020 and introduced support schemes for businesses during the Covid lockdown.

He was hit with controversy earlier this year though when it emerged his wife Akshata Murthy paid no UK tax on money she had earned abroad. Although not illegal, she agreed to pay extra tax on those earnings.

It was also revealed Mr Sunak had a temporary US green card giving him which allowed him to reside in America when he was chancellor. After becoming Britain’s 57th prime minister, he vowed to fix the mistakes of his predecessor.

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