Sunak addressed the nation in Downing Street just before midday, after he was formally appointed by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace following his victory in the Conservative leadership contest, and after a farewell speech from Truss earlier.
He said: “Right now, our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of Covid still lingers, Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over.
“I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Liz Truss, she was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country, it is a noble aim, and I admired her restlessness to create change. But some mistakes were made, not borne of ill will or bad intentions, quite the opposite in fact, but mistakes, nonetheless.
“I have been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minster, in part, to fix them, and that work begins immediately. I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come. But you saw me during Covid doing everything I could to protect people and businesses with schemes like furlough. There are always limits, moreso now than ever, but I promise you this – I will bring that same compassion to the challenges that we face today.
“The government I lead will not leave the next generation – your children and grandchildren – with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves. I will unite our country not with words, but with action. I will work day in and day out to deliver for you. This government will have integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level. Trust is earned and I will earn yours.
“I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit. And I know that he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual, it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us, and the heart of that mandate is our manifesto.
“I will deliver on its promise. A stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, levelling up, and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs.
“I understand how difficult this moment is. After the billions of pounds it cost us to combat Covid, after all the dislocation that caused, in the midst of a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions, I fully appreciate how hard things are, and I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened.
“All I can say is that I am not daunted, I know the high office I have accepted and I hope to live up to its demands, but when the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness. So I stand here before you, ready to lead our country into the future, to put your needs above politics, to reach out and build a government that represents the very best traditions of my party.
“Together we can achieve incredible things, we will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made, and fill tomorrow and every day thereafter with hope.”
Printers narrowly favoured Sunak during the prior leadership process to pick a successor for Boris Johnson, that was won by Truss.
In a Printweek poll running in the summer that asked 'Who do you think will be the best Prime Minister’, 20% thought Truss would, while 24% opted for Sunak and the remaining 56% selected 'none of the above'.
Industry reaction:
Mark Gray, managing director and owner, Charlesworth
“I’m pretty disillusioned with government as a whole at the moment. We’ve been affected by Brexit, which was badly managed. And we feel as if the situation with regards towards business energy is a farce, to be honest.
“I think what [Sunak] did was really good with regards to the pandemic – I don’t know how much he was involved with Brexit. He’s a businessperson. And we all know that some businesspeople are good, and some aren’t so good. We’ll wait to see but I just don't see the government being able to do anything that they need to do in the short-term to be able to protect manufacturing in this country.
“I think the government now has to deal with the issues at hand. They need to be brave. They need to not be silly. And they’ve got to be able to show to the financial markets that everything that they do is actually going to have a sound purpose, so we don't have the same situation as with Liz Truss.”
Zoe Deadman, managing director, KCS Trade Print
“I praise Sunak for his realism in the last leadership contest and feel he has a good grasp of how the economy will react. Ultimately, though, I believe the Tory government has had enough opportunity to improve things for the country as a whole and have failed repetitively to put country before party.
“Brexit has ripped the Conservative party apart and the UK economy with it. The sooner one of the two main parties launches a plan to get us back in the single market the better. We can ill afford the costs of the non-trade tariffs we are all now paying in industry.”
Dominic Hartley, commercial director, Lexon
“I was impressed with [Sunak’s] role as chancellor and happy to see him replace the hapless Liz Truss. He came across as trustworthy and competent and, in my view, he isn’t out for personal financial gain.
“I want to see stability, stability, and stability – the markets need a period of calm and he needs to deal with the cost of living crisis, with energy as a number one priority. He needs to be tough with Russia and supportive of Europe. Ideally, he should look for cross party support. I hope that he can be given time to focus on the UK rather than being dragged [into] the politics of uniting his party.
“[He should] absolutely not waste time and money on a general election, give him at least 12 months to settle the country down and then review.”
Brendan Perring, general manager, Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA)
“What the UK economy and our industry critically needs now is stable leadership, measured planning, and decision-making that is based on the advice of our excellent civil service and its expert advisers.
“Every decision about whether to launch a new direct mail campaign to sell a product, or launch a new cookbook, is based on market confidence and print buyers asking themselves questions like – are my customers in a receptive state to my messaging? Shall I take a risk with this marketing budget? If their confidence in the prosperity of our economy or the receptivity of consumers is shaken, those print orders don't get placed.
“The actions and decisions of our government affect this dynamic very profoundly and the overall well of confidence is running dry.
“We at the IPIA wish the new PM all the best in his endeavours to restore confidence in government and our economy.
“An embrace of civil and respectful discourse, backed up by evidence and facts, and a retreat from ideologically driven policy making is what we hope to see. This step we hope will go a long way to stabilising demand for print products.”
Martin McTague, national chair, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
“I congratulate Rishi Sunak on becoming Prime Minister. The focus must now be on stabilising the economy, delivering the promised support for small firms on energy bills and cutting national insurance, and on securing growth and prosperity in the medium and long term.
“The political turmoil at Westminster must end, and attention switch to the real world in which small businesses and the self-employed are being hammered by soaring costs, falling revenues, and diminishing availability of affordable finance.
“With recessionary pressures acute for small firms, pro-business measures will be needed to secure prosperity in the medium and long term. That includes the right tax and regulatory framework, including keeping pre-profit taxes such as business rates and national insurance as low as possible.
“Policies should also support improving broadband and local road infrastructure, housebuilding, and labour supply.
“Soaring energy bills have been uppermost in the minds of many small business owners in recent months. The promised energy support package for small business owners must be delivered swiftly, followed by a plan for what happens after the initial six months of support which takes a realistic view on the inherently vulnerable position that smaller firms find themselves in when dealing with energy suppliers.
“In the last two years the UK’s small business community shrank by half a million. While the reversal of the hike in national insurance is welcome, it’s a bitter blow to the directors of small companies paid through dividends to be excluded from this. These hard-working entrepreneurs were left out of Covid financial support and now face this tax rise, in many cases alongside a jump in corporation tax.
“At a time of pressure on public finances, the new Prime Minister could take the opportunity to improve cashflow for vast numbers of small firms without a cost to taxpayers – and that is through action to tackle poor payment practices in supply chains. Late payment of invoices – often by bigger businesses to their smaller suppliers – leads to the shutdown of 50,000 businesses a year. Over the last three months more than half (54%) of small firms have been the victim of late payments.
“There’s an easy win for the government and small businesses here if ministers double down on blacklisting big business offenders from winning taxpayer-funded contracts; as well as making audit committees of big firms directly responsible for their company’s payment practices.
“Small business entrepreneurs are resilient and innovative, but the current headwinds are gale-force. For small firms to drive economic recovery and future prosperity, they need a pro-small business environment in which to operate and grow.”
