Rishi Sunak: what will Tory leadership runner up do next as Liz Truss announced as new Prime Minister

It has been announced that Liz Truss has won the Tory leadership race, making her the new UK Prime Minister, taking over from Boris Johnson.

Chairman of the 1922 Committee Graham Brady confirmed that Truss won with 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399.

Truss said that it was an “honour” to be elected, and joked that it was “one of the longest job interviews in history”. Following her win, the 47-year-old will become the third female Prime Minister in the UK, after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

But as Truss embarks on her new appointment as Prime Minister, what will runner up Sunak do now?

This is what you need to know.

What will Rishi Sunak do now?

Prior to the Tory leadership results being announced, Sunak told the BBC’s Laura Kuenessberg that he would like to remain as the MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire “as long as they’ll have me”.

Sunak was elected to the House of Commons for Richmond in the 2015 general election, where he succeeded William Hague, and has served the constituency as MP ever since.

The seat has been held by the Conservative party for over 100 years and is considered one of the safest Tory seats in the UK.

Speaking to Kuenessberg, Sunak said: “It’s been a great privilege to represent them as their Member of Parliament for Richmond in North Yorkshire, I’d love to keep doing that as long as they’ll have me.”

After being asked if he planned to run again as an MP at the next election, Sunak replied: “It’s presumptuous for me to say because I have to get selected by my own members.

“But I was with them on Friday night and it’s been a privilege to represent them. And I know I can do good work for them.”

According to a source who spoke to the Sunday Times, Sunak is reportedly unlikely to return to the world of business, or to start a career in the ever growing tech industry.

They said: “[Sunak] is absolutely minted, and while he never really talks about it… going to work for Facebook means nothing to him because he probably earns more from his investments.”

They added: “The only reason you give up politics is for money, family or health, and I don’t know if there’s a job big enough on this planet to tempt him out of politics.”

Will he be in Liz Truss’ cabinet?

Earlier in August, Sunak indicated that he would not take up a position in Liz Truss’ cabinet, stating that cabinet ministers “really need to agree with the big things”.

Sunak said that it is difficult when those at the top have fundamentally opposing views, adding that he “wouldn’t want to end up in a situation like that again”.

Will he stand for Prime Minister again?

When asked on Sunday whether he would consider another go at the Tory leadership, Sunak said: “Oh gosh. We’ve just finished this campaign.

“So, I’d say… I need to recover from this one. But I look forward to supporting the Conservative government in whatever capacity.”