Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke by phone over the weekend to Conservative Party candidates who lost their seats in last week’s general election. He apologised for the party’s worst-ever performance, which saw it secure just 121 seats in the House of Commons.
Several former members of Parliament told The Daily Telegraph about the “very sympathetic calls” they received from the British Indian MP, who won his seat of Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire and will remain leader of the opposition until the Conservative Party elects his successor.
The 44-year-old apologised to his party colleagues and the nation in his farewell speech at 10 Downing Street on Friday, when he also announced his resignation as Tory leader after Labour’s landslide victory with 411 MPs in the 650-seat Commons.
One ousted Tory MP was quoted as saying “He found time to call me on Saturday night and I think he found time to call other MPs as well. He was calling to say he was extremely sorry I had lost my seat.”
“To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but did not succeed, I am sorry we could not deliver what they deserve,” Sunak said in his speech last week.
The front-runners to replace him as party leader have been working behind the scenes to garner support. Former home secretary Suella Braverman, who has been openly critical of Sunak’s leadership, is among the contenders, but her campaign suffered an early setback as one of her supporters switched allegiances to her former Home Office colleague Robert Jenrick.
Those entering the race include two other former home secretaries, Priti Patel and James Cleverly, and former business secretary Kemi Badenoch. Other former Sunak cabinet ministers, Victoria Atkins and Tom Tugendhat, could also bid once the contest is outlined by the party’s 1922 committee – which will elect its new chairman after the election.
Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Keir Starmer spent his first weekend travelling to different parts of the United Kingdom, starting with Scotland. He will then embark on his first foreign trip as Prime Minister for a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Washington to chart the course of his Labour government’s relationship with US President Joe Biden’s administration and other international partners.
On Saturday he spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders agreed to meet at the “earliest opportunity”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said of the conversation: “Discussing the free trade agreement, the Prime Minister said he was open to reaching a deal that would be beneficial to both sides. The leaders looked forward to meeting as soon as possible.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
