Rishi Sunak will be the UK’s next Prime Minster and leader of the Conservative party.
The news comes after Penny Mordaunt – the only other contender for the position – dropped out of the leadership race.
Last night, Boris Johnson also withdrew his bid to regain his former position as party leader.
Labour has reacted furiously to the news, saying that it’s ‘disgraceful’ that Sunak – the ‘the richest MP in history’ – has been elected with no votes cast, and no mandate.
Mr Sunak is set to become the UK’s first British Asian prime minister and will be tasked with restoring order to Britain’s tattered economy.
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He had previously bid to lead the Tory party but missed out to Liz Truss, who held the position for only 44 days before resigning.
Ms Mordaunt said today: “Our Party is our membership. Whether we are elected representatives, activists, fundraisers or supporters. We all have a stake in who our leader is.
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“These are unprecedented times. Despite the compressed timetable for the leadership contest it is clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today. They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country.
“Members should know that this proposition has been fairly and thoroughly tested by the agreed 1922 process.
“As a result, we have now chosen our next Prime Minister. This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support.
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“I am proud of the campaign we ran and grateful to all those, across all sides of our party, who gave me their backing. We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation. There is much work to be done.”
Angela Rayner has reacted with fury to the news, posting: “The Tories have crowned Rishi Sunak without him saying a word about what he would do as PM. He has no mandate, no answers and no ideas. Nobody voted for this.”
Labour MP Nadia Whittome wrote: “Rishi Sunak and his wife sit on a fortune of £730,000,000. That’s around twice the estimated wealth of King Charles III.
“Remember this whenever he talks about making “tough decisions” that working class people will pay for.”
And Chris Bryant posted: “If @RishiSunak becomes PM without a single interview or a smidgin of scrutiny, let alone a public vote, the British electoral system will look no more democratic than a banana republic. He will have no mandate. And that is disgraceful.”
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Zarah Sultana added: “So Rishi Sunak – the richest MP in history – is going to become Prime Minister, with plans to cut funding for public services and slash workers’ wages.
“This Tory class war will be waged with no mandate, without a single vote being cast. General election now!”
The spoof account for Larry, the resident cat and chief mouser at 10 Downing Street, posted: “Rishi Sunak is becoming Prime Minister. His family is loaded so caviar and lobster on the menu for me from tomorrow.”
Featured image: Flickr
News
Teen sentenced after deliberately driving into a female police officer in Stockport
Emily Sergeant
A teen who deliberately drove into a female police officer at a retail park Stockport earlier this year has been sentenced.
Harvey Bell was at a retail park on Wilmslow Road in Cheadle back on 25 January 2025 when he seriously injured a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer during a shocking incident – which left the officer requiring hospital treatment.
At the time, the 19-year-old from Knutsford was present while police were investigating reports of class C drug use in a car park.
Police parked in front of an Audi and the officer signalled for Bell to remain stationary and turn the engine off, but instead he reversed, and as the officer approached the front windscreen, Bell drove at the officer, knocking her to the ground.
He then proceeded to drive over her legs with both sets of wheels, before heading out of the car park at speed.
#JAILED | A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been jailed.
Harvey Bell (12/08/2005) has been sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute and was disqualified from driving for two years.
— Stockport Police (GMP) (@GMPStockport) June 4, 2025
Bell was subsequently arrested the following day and made no comment in his police interview, but then went on to plead guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as possession of cannabis on 27 March 2025.
The teen appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week where he was sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute, and was also disqualified from driving for two years – which will take effect when he is released.
“What [Bell] did to me is permanently in the back of my mind, every call I go to, I feel the apprehension, the fear that any incident, no matter how innocuous it appears, can end with being assaulted or hurt,” the officer explained in a powerful victim impact statement read in court.
“This is an unseen result of Bell’s assault on me.”
She continued: “I know that Bell’s abhorrent behaviour is an exception, and the majority of the public we serve do not wish us harm, but assaults on police need to stop. An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all.
“Bell is a danger to society and had total disregard for my life.”
Featured Image – GMP
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IKEA announces decision to close popular Greater Manchester site
Emily Sergeant
It’s the end of the road for one of IKEA’s popular Greater Manchester sites.
The Swedish furniture giant has announced its decision to close its ‘Plan and Order Point’ over in Stockport in a couple of weeks time.
The store – which is located in Stockport town centre’s Merseyway Shopping Centre – launched to huge success back in March 2023, and at the time, was the second of this ‘test and trial’ format to open in the UK, becoming a smaller space dedicated to kitchen and home planning, as well as ordering items.
IKEA says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ which plan to take this conceptual format in a direction to ‘better suit the needs of UK customers’.
IKEA is closing its close popular Stockport site this month / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
Since the opening of the Stockport Plan and Order Point, IKEA claims it has seen an increased demand for Click and Collect services, a desire by customers to shop a smaller selection of home furnishing accessories, as well as the ability to return goods to physical IKEA units, and this is all something which the current location is unable to offer.
Learning from this change in consumer habits, the company says its future Plan and Order Point openings – including in those in other northern cities like Hull and York – will offer these services.
IKEA says it also remains ‘committed’ to trialling new formats, such as its upcoming small stores, one of which will open in nearby Chester later this year.
Luckily for IKEA fans, the retailer has confirmed that its major Greater Manchester store in Ashton-under-Lyne, as well as the neighbouring store in Warrington, will remain open as normal, offering all the services available at Stockport and more.
The Swedish furniture says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ about customer needs / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
In addition to the upcoming opening of a smaller store in Chester, IKEA has revealed that the North West continues to be an area of interest for future expansion.
“After careful evaluation, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre,” explained Salma Azad, who is one of IKEA’s Area Managers.
“In the two years since opening, we’ve taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we’ll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way.”
Thanks to last year’s Click and Collect expansion, Stockport residents can now pick up purchases from Tesco Extra Stockport and Tesco Extra Stretford, as well as the Manchester store and the upcoming small store in Chester.
Stockport Plan and Order Point’s final day of trading will be on 16 June.
Daisy Jackson -
24th October 2022 
