Rishi Sunak’s economic statement just strengthened his claim as Boris Johnson’s successor
Despite being the richest MP in the House of Commons, the chancellor is still a more credible leader than the PM, John Rentoul observes
It is obviously premature to talk about Rishi Sunak’s prospects of succeeding Boris Johnson as prime minister. So let’s do it. It may be in only three years’ time that the Conservative Party is looking for an alternative candidate to lead them into the next election.
Who knows what will happen between now and the autumn of 2023, which is when minds will start to be focused on the election expected in the summer of 2024.
First, a brief digression on dates. The Conservatives have promised to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which sets the date of the next election for 2 May 2024. It might be assumed that, because the fixed term of the act is often described as five years, the next election would be in December 2024, but the act specifies the first Thursday in May in the fifth year after the previous election.
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