Paul Bainsfair, director general of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising has reacted with cautious optimism to the appointment of the third UK Prime Minister since the summer.
Sunak was appointed to the role unopposed this afternoon after rival Penny Mordaunt stood down from the race and disgraced former PM Boris Johnson also declined to stand, despite claiming he had enough backers to pass the 100 MP-barrier set by the Tory party’s 1922 committee.
Johnson had originally been replaced by Liz Truss, who edged Sunak out in a vote of the party’s members in September, however the former LibDem’s premiership lasted just seven weeks before she was forced to resign after successfully tanking the economy with a highly controversial, populist budget that brought sweeping tax cuts to the country’s wealthiest amidst a cost-of-living crisis and growing recesssion.
Bainsfair said: “We welcome the appointment of Rishi Sunak as our new prime minister. We hope that this brings to an end the political turmoil that has caused so much damage to the country and that he will be able to provide the financial acumen, clarity, certainty and confidence that we are seeking from government. Firm foundations that allow our agencies to make more solid, longer-term plans to build and grow their businesses and those of their clients. On top of that we are of course still keen to engage with government further on the significant issues affecting our industry, including HFSS regulation, the Online Advertising Programme, the privatisation plans for C4 and more.”
Bainsfair was joined in welcoming Sunak’s appointment by the immigration-focused thinktank British Future. The thinktank’s chief Sunder Katwala said: “Rishi Sunak becoming the first British Indian prime minister is an historic moment. This simply would not have been possible even a decade or two ago. It shows that public service in the highest office in Britain can be open to those of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds. This will be a source of pride to many British Asians – including many who do not share Rishi Sunak’s Conservative politics. When Sunak was born in Southampton in 1980, there had been no Asian or black MPs at all in the postwar era. There were still no black or Asian Conservative MPs when he graduated from university in 2001. Sunak reaching 10 Downing Street does not make Britain a perfect meritocracy [but] is a hopeful sign of progress against the prejudices of the past.”
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, returned to Bainsfair’s hopes for greater stability moving forward. Policy director Chris Fletcher said: “We would obviously like to congratulate the new Prime Minister and, hopefully, we can now look forward to a period of much-needed stability and serious focus on tackling the increasing number of challenges that businesses and people are facing on a daily basis.
“After the abject failure of the previous PM and the last-but-one chancellor when they created a maelstrom of costly havoc in the national economy, many see the new PM as having a much better handle on what is needed to start to address some of the many problems people are facing.”
Sunak will officially take up the new role at around 11.30am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning after meeting with King Charles to be asked to form a new government.
