Rishi Sunak issued an apology to the British public on Friday after the Conservative Party suffered a significant defeat to Labour in the recent general election. He announced his decision to step down as the party leader.
The 44-year-old former financier had decided to call the election six months earlier than required, hoping that improving economic conditions would shift public opinion in favor of the Tories. However, Thursday's election results demonstrated that Britons wanted a change after 14 years of economic challenges, Brexit-related turmoil, and internal party conflicts.
"I want to say, first and foremost, to the country, I am sorry," Sunak stated outside Downing Street before proceeding to Buckingham Palace to formally resign as Prime Minister to King Charles III. "I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change. And yours is the only judgment that matters. I have heard your anger and your disappointment, and I take responsibility for this loss," he added.
The scale of the defeat meant that Sunak, the Conservative Party's fifth leader since 2010, had no choice but to resign as party leader. However, he will remain in the role until a new leadership contest is arranged, which is expected to be a battle over the party's ideological direction.
Several of Sunak's top ministers, including Defense Secretary Grant Shapps and House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, lost their seats. His immediate predecessor, Liz Truss, also lost her seat.
Sunak, an observant Hindu and Britain's first Prime Minister of color extended his best wishes to his successor, Keir Starmer, describing him as "a decent, public-spirited man whom I respect." He remarked, "One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is that two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister. And that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali candles on the steps of Downing Street. We must hold to that idea of who we are."