British PM Rishi Sunak Takes Office during Economic Crisis
2022-10-26
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1Rishi Sunak became Britain's third prime minister this year on Tuesday.
2The former Treasury chief promised to lead the country through an economic crisis and rebuild trust in politics.
3Sunak made the traditional visit to Buckingham Palace and met with King Charles III,
4who officially asked the prime minister to form a government.
5He leads the country's Conservative party.
6The 42-year-old Sunak comes from an Indian and Hindu background.
7The former hedge fund chief first entered elected politics seven years ago.
8A hedge fund is a group of investors who use complex investments to gain high returns.
9Sunak is the youngest British leader to be elected in more than 200 years.
10He replaces Liz Truss, who recently resigned after spending just 44 days in office.
11Truss faced a wave of criticism over a series of economic proposals that shook financial markets and divided her Conservative party.
12Political experts say Sunak is seen by his party as a safe caretaker who can hopefully steady an economy moving toward recession.
13Speaking outside the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street in London,
14Sunak said he realized the great difficulties currently facing Britain.
15"I fully appreciate how hard things are," he said.
16He added that he also recognized that he will have to work hard to regain the public's trust.
17"All I can say is that I am not daunted."
18Sunak said he would look for the best ways to cut public spending and fix the "mistakes" made by Truss.
19The new prime minister is expected to cut government spending to reduce an estimated $45 billion budget deficit.
20The deficit was created by an economic slowdown, higher borrowing costs and energy support measures.
21Solving the problem "will mean difficult decisions to come," Sunak said.
22As chief of Britain's Treasury, Sunak became popular with the public by offering billions in support to closed businesses and unemployed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
23Now, he will have to oversee tax increases and spending cuts as he tries to bring inflation and government debt under control.
24Workers in the railroad, telecommunications, waste collection and other industries have gone on strike for higher wages recently.
25Sunak also promised to put the public's needs before politics.
26Members of Britain's Indian community and people in India celebrated Sunak's new position.
27Social media and Indian media were flooded with congratulations for Sunak.
28New Delhi businessman Manoj Garg told The Associated Press,
29"It is a moment of pride for India that the country which ruled us for many years has now a prime minister of Indian heritage."
30Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sunak on Twitter.
31He said he looked forward to "working closely" with the prime minister on world issues.
32Modi added, "Special Diwali wishes to the 'living bridge' of UK Indians as we transform historic ties into modern partnership."
33Sunak's grandparents came from Punjab state before India and Pakistan were divided after British rule ended in 1947.
34The family moved to East Africa in the late 1930s before settling in Britain in the 1960s.
35Sunak was born in 1980 in Southampton, on England's south coast.
36Sunak is married to Akshata Murty.
37Her father is Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, creator of the technology company Infosys.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Rishi Sunak became Britain's third prime minister this year on Tuesday. The former Treasury chief promised to lead the country through an economic crisis and rebuild trust in politics. 2Sunak made the traditional visit to Buckingham Palace and met with King Charles III, who officially asked the prime minister to form a government. He leads the country's Conservative party. 3The 42-year-old Sunak comes from an Indian and Hindu background. The former hedge fund chief first entered elected politics seven years ago. A hedge fund is a group of investors who use complex investments to gain high returns. 4Sunak is the youngest British leader to be elected in more than 200 years. He replaces Liz Truss, who recently resigned after spending just 44 days in office. Truss faced a wave of criticism over a series of economic proposals that shook financial markets and divided her Conservative party. 5Political experts say Sunak is seen by his party as a safe caretaker who can hopefully steady an economy moving toward recession. 6Speaking outside the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street in London, Sunak said he realized the great difficulties currently facing Britain. "I fully appreciate how hard things are," he said. He added that he also recognized that he will have to work hard to regain the public's trust. "All I can say is that I am not daunted." 7Sunak said he would look for the best ways to cut public spending and fix the "mistakes" made by Truss. 8The new prime minister is expected to cut government spending to reduce an estimated $45 billion budget deficit. The deficit was created by an economic slowdown, higher borrowing costs and energy support measures. Solving the problem "will mean difficult decisions to come," Sunak said. 9As chief of Britain's Treasury, Sunak became popular with the public by offering billions in support to closed businesses and unemployed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 10Now, he will have to oversee tax increases and spending cuts as he tries to bring inflation and government debt under control. Workers in the railroad, telecommunications, waste collection and other industries have gone on strike for higher wages recently. 11Sunak also promised to put the public's needs before politics. 12Members of Britain's Indian community and people in India celebrated Sunak's new position. Social media and Indian media were flooded with congratulations for Sunak. New Delhi businessman Manoj Garg told The Associated Press, "It is a moment of pride for India that the country which ruled us for many years has now a prime minister of Indian heritage." 13Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sunak on Twitter. He said he looked forward to "working closely" with the prime minister on world issues. Modi added, "Special Diwali wishes to the 'living bridge' of UK Indians as we transform historic ties into modern partnership." 14Sunak's grandparents came from Punjab state before India and Pakistan were divided after British rule ended in 1947. The family moved to East Africa in the late 1930s before settling in Britain in the 1960s. Sunak was born in 1980 in Southampton, on England's south coast. 15Sunak is married to Akshata Murty. Her father is Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, creator of the technology company Infosys. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press and Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 18_________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20appreciate - v. to understand how good something or someone is 21daunted - adj. worried or frightened 22pride - n. a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people 23heritage - n. something possessed as a result of one natural situation or birth 24transform - v. to change something completely, usually to improve it 25______________________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.