‘Who voted for you?’: what the papers say as Rishi Sunak prepares to become prime minister

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Rishi Sunak’s victory in the Tory leadership contest and hisimminent accession to the top of British politics leads the front page of every major newspaper in the UK on Tuesday.

The Guardian headlines “Unite or die – Sunak’s warning to Tory MPs“. Under a picture of Sunak receiving a heroes welcome at the Conservative head office in London, the paper’s deputy political editor reports that he told MPs he would “put an end to the Conservative psychodrama” and “prioritise ‘policies not personalities'”.

The story also notes that “he will become the third Conservative prime minister in under two months and the fifth in six years.”

“He will also make history as the first Hindu to lead the country”.

The Mail continues the theme, reporting that Sunak will be “our youngest modern PM – and first with an Asian heritage”.

Under the headline “A new dawn for Britain” the paper says that the “Tory party fightback starts here”.

The Sun strikes a similarly ebullient note with, “The force is with you, Rishi”. The main image shows Sunak holding a lightsaber.

“Tory MPs turned to Star Wars nut Rishi Sunak as their ‘new hope'”, its political editor writes, but adds that his victory came, “without a single vote being cast.”

Under the banner “Our new (unelected) PM” the Mirror asks “Who voted for you?”

Its main story says “twice as rich as the King, Mr Sunak will now preside over brutal public spending cuts” and carries a quote from Labour’s Angela Rayner who says “we need an election now.”

Scotland’s Daily Record is even more critical, with the headline “Death of democracy”.

The paper notes that “His own party rejected him a matter of weeks ago but as the only candidate who had the support of just 100 MPs, Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s new Prime Minister”.

The Financial Times focuses on the economic challenges that lie ahead for the new prime minister and says that the “markets look forward to ‘dullness dividend’ in the wake of Truss turbulence”.

The paper quotes Tory MPs as saying they hope Sunak “will reassure markets and help hold down borrowing costs”.

The Times carries more on Sunak’s warning to Tories that “Failure to heal rifts would ‘finish’ [the] party”.

The Telegraph takes a similar line, saying “PM aims to bring warring factions together for ‘one shot’ at ending economic crisis”.