Have the Conservatives ‘any mandate left to govern’?

With a new Prime Minister now in place, Orkney and Shetland’s MP has welcomed the curtailment of the “madness of the Truss administration.”

Responding to Rishi Sunak being appointed as the new Conservative leader and Prime Minister, Alistair Carmichael said that after “weeks of chaos amongst the Conservatives” the country “finally” has a new PM.

All it cost for this to happen, he said, was “turmoil in the markets and soaring mortgage payments for struggling families.”

“That the madness of the Truss administration has been curtailed is good but we have to ask why the Conservatives have any mandate left to govern.”

However, Mr Carmichael added that we should reflect on this “significant moment for the UK” as the first person of South Asian heritage and of the Hindi faith leads the country.

“Even as political opponents we can respect and welcome what this demonstrates about the diversity of our country,” he added. “What is less welcome is the lack of accountability for the economic mess the Conservatives have left us.

“If Sunak is to succeed as a Prime Minister leading a party riven by division and mistrust, he needs to show some political authority. He can only gain that by putting country over party, and calling a general election.”