No fanfare for Rishi Sunak as his sombre speech will calm colleagues and voters
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Rishi Sunak has of course walked up Downing Street many times – as chancellor he lived in Number 11.
But today he made the journey for the first time since securing the top job and approached the famous black door not as part of a cabinet, but as prime minister.
There wasn’t much fanfare on arrival and that was on purpose.
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We’ve seen new prime ministers enter before being surrounded by cheering MPs, but today it was empty. The mood was sombre.
That’s because Mr Sunak wanted to reflect the seriousness of the challenges the country faces as he takes over at Number 10.
And this was also reflected in his expression as he entered the building, and in his speech.
Its themes were fixing the political mistakes of his predecessors, economic stability, hard work and tough decisions.
His assessment of the prime ministers he follows was polite but withering, and there was a clear intention to create clear blue water between him and the recent past.
On Liz Truss, his verdict was that despite no ill will or bad intentions “mistakes were made”.
Turning to Boris Johnson, he praised “his warmth” but little else.
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Looking forward to his own premiership, he set out the context in which he takes power in stark terms.
He described a domestic economic crisis fuelled by global factors – the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the energy instability caused by the war in Ukraine.
He said he will tackle this through fiscal prudence and preparing his party and the country for the hardship to come, he talked about the “difficult decisions” that would have to be made.
His style of leadership also came across clearly – he will “work day and night” to win back the trust of voters and put integrity at the heart of his reign.
Reaching out to his party he indicated that he would bring in figures from all wings, stick to the 2019 manifesto and pursue the unity that has dominated this contest.
A competent speech, that will calm his colleagues and reassure many voters that he understands the task ahead.
