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Labour has reiterated its calls for an immediate general election after it was confirmed Rishi Sunak will become the UK’s next prime minister.

After a rapid political comeback, the former chancellor will become the UK’s youngest prime minister in modern political history and the country’s first-ever Hindu leader after being selected unopposed by Conservative MPs to succeed Liz Truss.

The title of youngest ever prime minister belongs to William Pitt the Younger, who was just 24 when he took office in 1783.

Mr Sunak will enter Downing Street less than two months after he lost the last Conservative leadership race in the summer.

Sunak to become next PM – Politics latest

But Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner accused the former chancellor of having “no mandate, no answers and no ideas”.

“What we’ve seen played out is a coronation here and not an actual election where people have a mandate to serve the British people of this country,” she said.

More on Rishi Sunak

“Nobody voted for this. The public deserve their say on Britain’s future through a general election. It’s time for a fresh start with Labour.”

Ms Rayner added: “Rishi Sunak was rejected by his own party membership only weeks ago.

“The people in this country now deserve us to go to the electorate to put our policies forward about how we’re going to deal with this cost of living crisis that the Conservatives have put upon the British people and let them have a vote.”

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reinforced this view.

“That he becomes the first British Asian – indeed the first from any minority ethnic background – to become PM is a genuinely significant moment. It certainly makes this a special Diwali,” she said.

“As for the politics, I’d suggest one immediate decision he should take and one he certainly should not. He should call an early general election. And he should not – must not – unleash another round of austerity. Our public services will not withstand that.”

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‘Sunak should call general election’

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the Tories of installing “another out-of-touch prime minister”, as he also called for the public to have the chance to go to the polls.

“The Conservative Party has trashed the British economy, pushed local health services to the brink, and added hundreds of pounds to people’s monthly mortgage payments,” he said in a statement.

“Now Conservative MPs have installed another out-of-touch prime minister with no plan to repair the damage and without giving the British people a say.”

Accusing Mr Sunak of not understanding “the challenges facing struggling families and pensioners”, he continued: “The only way to end the chaos is a general election now.”

Read more:
Who is Rishi Sunak? The UK’s first British Asian prime minister
Who could be in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet?
Sunak v Starmer – How do they measure up in the eyes of voters?

But former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith disagreed: “I don’t think there is any need for a general election, I don’t want one now. I want us to deliver on what we said we’d do and then go to the polls in the normal time.”

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Rishi Sunak addresses British public

Former PM David Cameron was among the first senior Conservatives to offer his congratulations to Mr Sunak, adding that he is “proud” to see Mr Sunak become the UK’s first British Indian prime minister.

“Huge congratulations Rishi Sunak on becoming PM to lead us through challenging times,” he posted on social media.

“I predicted a decade ago that Conservatives would select our first Brit Indian PM and proud today that comes to be.

“I wish Rishi the v best, he has my wholehearted support.”

Conservative peer Baroness Warsi, a former cabinet minister, described Mr Sunak’s election as a “historic moment”.

“Whatever your politics, this moment shows change and what is possible,” she said.

“The party that once had amongst its ranks Oswald Mosley and in living memory Enoch Powell now has a PM of Indian heritage and of the Hindu faith and notably. Rishi Sunak is unapologetically both.”

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Analysis: Challenges ahead for Sunak

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi said Mr Sunak’s election proves “the United Kingdom is a place where you can achieve amazing things”.

In a post on social media, he added: “Under Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives we will never stop helping people make their British dream come true, regardless of their background. Congratulations, Rishi.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wished Mr Sunak his “warmest congratulations” and said he looks forward to the pair “working closely together on global issues”.

“Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership,” he said.

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‘Tories keep dolling out PMs’

Ms Truss, who quit as PM last week after just 44 days, offered her congratulations to Mr Sunak, adding: “You have my full support.”

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, who withdrew from the contest at the last minute, said the same – and urged her Conservative colleagues to “unite and work together for the good of the nation”.

Fellow cabinet ministers echoed this message.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News: “We have absolutely got to focus on the needs of the British people

“That means uniting round the prime minister. We don’t have the luxury of argument and division. We have to focus on delivery for the British people.”

Boris Johnson-backer and Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg agreed “now is the time for party unity”.

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Indian people ‘proud’ as Sunak is next PM

Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry called for an end to Tory infighting, saying: “Now is the time for the whole party to come together and unite four-square behind Rishi, as he gets on with the vital work of tackling the challenges we face as a country.

He added that “the time for internal debates is well and truly over”.

Former PM Theresa May was among others to offer their congratulations.

“Rishi will provide the calm, competent, pragmatic leadership our country needs at this deeply challenging time. He has my full support,” she said.

Mr Sunak will be formally appointed to the role in a handover of power overseen by the King.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

More on Donald Trump

Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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