UK’s revolving door at 10 Downing Street greets first Hindu PM Sunak
As Hindus around the globe celebrate the Festival of Light known as Diwali, Britain has its first ever Hindu prime minister as Rishi Sunak takes over after the brief and shambolic term of Liz Truss
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Rishi Sunak is Britain’s third prime minister this year, replacing the short-lived* Liz Truss and inheriting a daunting* array of problems.
Mr Sunak became the ruling Conservative Party’s new leader, after rival Penny Mordaunt failed to secure enough nominations from Tory MPs, and Boris Johnson abandoned a comeback bid.
The 42-year-old Hindu* is Britain’s first prime minister of colour and the youngest in 200 years.
Mr Sunak took power after a morning audience* with King Charles III, who anointed his first prime minister since ascending* the throne two days after his late mother Queen Elizabeth II appointed Ms Truss.
Ms Truss held a final cabinet meeting Tuesday night AEST* before making a departing statement at Downing St*, with Mr Sunak speaking soon after.
The shortest-serving British PM in history, Ms Truss leaves office after seven weeks having overseen a disastrous budget that sparked economic and political turmoil.
The 47-year-old announced her resignation last week, admitting she could not deliver her “mandate*” from Conservative members, who had chosen her over Mr Sunak.
Mr Sunak has staged a stunning turnaround in political fortunes, and has vowed to do the same for Britain as it confronts decades-high inflation*, surging borrowing costs and a possible recession*.
Mr Sunak promised “stability and unity”.
After delivering the all-too-familiar new leader’s speech from the steps of Number 10*, Britain’s fifth prime minister in six years will start appointing his team before facing his first session of “Prime Minister’s Questions” in parliament.
Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, appointed by Ms Truss just 11 days ago in an ultimately futile* bid to save her position, could remain in the role after stabilising markets. He endorsed* Mr Sunak, saying he was a leader “willing to make the choices necessary for our long-term prosperity*”.
After reversing almost all of Ms Truss’s various tax cuts, Mr Hunt has warned “difficult decisions” loom over public spending.
Mr Sunak must decide who else to appoint to his cabinet, with fallen PM Boris Johnson unlikely to get a seat around the table.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wasted no time congratulating the new PM.
“Warmest congratulations @RishiSunak! As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030,” Mr Modi tweeted, referring to a plan for deepening ties in trade and other areas.
He added: “Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership.”
Additional reporting by Danielle Gusmaroli
GLOSSARY
- short-lived: brief, not lasting long, temporary
- daunting: intimidating, overwhelming, often used to describe a very difficult, challenging task
- Hindu: member of India’s main religion Hinduism, an ancient belief system with more than 500 million followers globally
- audience: any one-on-one meeting with a king or queen
- AEST: Australian Eastern Standard Time
- Downing St: street in London where the British prime minister lives
- ascending: moving up to higher levels, greater power and authority
- mandate: authority given to an elected group to perform an action or govern a country
- inflation: increase in the level of prices of goods and services that households buy
- recession: significant, widespread, and prolonged downturn in economic activity
- Number 10: refers to No. 10 Downing St, the British prime minister’s residence
- futile: achieving no result, anything that is not effective or successful
- endorsed: public statement of approval or support for something or someone
- prosperity: condition of being successful and thriving
EXTRA READING
Charles III the ‘cost of living’ King
New British PM Liz Truss sworn in
Queen Elizabeth II’s final farewell
QUICK QUIZ
- Who is Britain’s new prime minister?
- The new prime minister is the UK’s youngest in how many years?
- Who is Britain’s shortest-serving PM and how many weeks was she in the top job?
- Her replacement officially became PM after an audience with whom?
- How many prime ministers has Britain had in six years?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Advertise the job
Write a job advertisement for the role of British prime minister. Remember to include what the job involves and the qualities that are needed to do a great job.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Civics and Citizenship
2. Extension
What do you know about the role of the Australian prime minister? Use your research skills to find information to create a Fact Sheet about our PM. Include how they are chosen and what their role and responsibilities are.
Time: allow 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Civics and Citizenship
VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.
Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.
Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.