The Guardian understands he told party donors at an event the week before voting closed that he would remain at the political forefront regardless of the result. Allies close to the former chancellor confirmed he planned to honor that pledge and not stand down from parliament, which would have triggered an early and potentially embarrassing by-election for Truss in his Yorkshire constituency of Richmond. Sunak received 43% of the vote from Tory members and sources in his campaign claimed to have won over a high percentage of members who remained undecided until the final weeks of the contest. The former chancellor will not be offered a cabinet post after refusing to say last month whether he would vote on an emergency Trust budget. Tory sources also said he would likely have turned down an offer to run a “poisoned chalice” department such as the Department of Health and Social Care, which the Sun previously reported he was in line for. Some have suggested the wealthy Sunak could be eyeing a return to a career in banking. Timetable
Liz Truss’ timeline
projection Outline of the new prime minister’s schedule for the next few days September 6, 2022 Tuesday Early morning flight to Aberdeen to prepare to meet the Queen. Once Boris Johnson meets the Queen and leaves Balmoral, Liz Truss will arrive to meet Her Majesty and be appointed as the UK’s next Prime Minister. Early afternoon: Truss leaves on a flight back to London, where she is likely to be briefed on national security matters. Noon: Truss arrives at Downing Street and makes her first speech as Prime Minister. Late afternoon and early evening: the Prime Minister begins making senior cabinet appointments and holds meetings with the civil service. Phone calls from world leaders. September 7, 2022 Wednesday Morning: first cabinet meeting Noon: first PMQs tackled by Keir Starmer Afternoon: appointment of junior ministers and further briefings. September 8, 2022 Thursday Truss to unveil plans to tackle rising energy bills Thanks for your response. Speculation about his exit from Westminster also grew at the weekend when he failed to promise to stand as an MP at the next election – saying it would be “presumptuous” to assume he would be re-elected by his local union. But Sunak told donors at a private event with Truss last Thursday that he would remain on the political frontline, to rapturous applause from those in attendance, sources said. In an interview on Monday with the BBC, he said he was “very committed” to his constituents and added: “I don’t intend to go anywhere.” His supporters also said the former chancellor would spend the next few years lurking at the back tables. They claimed he wanted to “wait it out” and “be able to say ‘I told you so’” if the financial consequences Sunak warned Truss’ plans were to come to fruition. On the campaign trail, she claimed her tax cuts would fuel inflation and benefit the wealthy. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. If he is proved right and Truss fails to recover the Tories’ abysmal poll ratings, Sunak’s supporters said he would be in a position to lead the party into its first term in opposition in at least 12 years. However, they realize that Boris Johnson could also be weighing up another run for the top job. Sunak’s allies insisted that he would be loyal to Truss and refrain from making interventions designed to hurt her – at least during the honeymoon period. Even a Truss MP admitted that Sunak might get lucky by waiting in the wings. “He could hang around until the next election is called and see which way the wind blows,” they said. “If we lose, the party will have to face reality and be more willing to listen to its hard truths.” However, a number of Sunak’s supporters believe he would fare similarly to Jeremy Hunt – who reached the bottom two of the leadership contest in 2019 but was kicked out in the first round of voting by MPs this time. “It’s no longer going to be ‘the next big, smart new thing,’” said one. Although there is a shortage of Sunak supporters who are said to be in line for senior roles in Tras’s cabinet, her allies insist they will still be given ministers of state.
