Rishi Sunak

First Address as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

delivered 25 October 2022, London, England

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

Good morning.

I have just been to Buckingham Palace and accepted His Majesty The King’s invitation to form a government in his name.

It is only right to explain why I am standing here as your new Prime Minister. Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis. The aftermath of COVID still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilized 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. And I have been elected as leader of my Party, and your Prime Minister, 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, more so now than ever, but I promise you this: I will bring that same compassion to the challenges 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 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; leveling 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 everyday thereafter, with hope.

Thank you.

Book/CDs by Michael E. Eidenmuller, Published by McGraw-Hill (2008)

Original Text Source: Gov.uk

Original Audio and Video Source: parliamentlive.tv

Text Note: Original text modified to accurately reflect the speaker's verbal delivery. Grammar, spelling, structure, and punctuation changed to reflect Standard American English and/or AmericanRhetoric.con's transcription practices.

Page Updated: 11/3/22

U.S. Copyright Status: Text = United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0.