Scottish Tory leader Ross welcomes next PM Sunak

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has congratulated Rishi Sunak on winning the race to become UK prime minster.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt dropped out just before the 14:00 deadline for party leadership hopefuls to gather support from the required 100 MPs.

Ms Mordaunt had fewer than 30 Tory MPs publicly backing her while Mr Sunak had almost 200 supporters on the record.

The former chancellor is expected to take office on Tuesday after formally meeting King Charles III.

Mr Sunak, 42, will succeed Liz Truss to become the youngest prime minister for more than 200 years.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson pulled out of the contest on Sunday.

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Writing on Twitter, Mr Ross said he was looking forward to working with Mr Sunak "for the good of Scotland and the whole United Kingdom".

"Our country - like others around the world - faces tough economic challenges," he wrote.

"Against that backdrop, it's important that we have someone at the helm with a proven track record in running the nation's finances, who can provide economic stability and reassurance to the markets."

Douglas Ross said there were tough economic challenges to be faced

Recent weeks had been "difficult and unsettling" for the Conservative Party and the UK, he added.

Mr Ross previously said he had confidence in Ms Truss, who was prime minister for just 45 days, but has not revealed who he backed in the last leadership vote in August.

Mr Sunak made a speech to Tory MPs in private after the result was announced at 14:00 by Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee.

In a short televised address, his first as Tory leader, he later paid tribute to Ms Truss and warned that the UK faced a "profound" economic crisis

Mr Sunak added he intended to serve with "integrity and humility"

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack offered his new party leader his "wholehearted support" and urged the Conservative Party to unite behind him.

"We are facing very significant challenges at home and abroad, and there is much to be done," he said. "We need to unite and focus on delivering for everyone in our country."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also tweeted her congratulations, and wished him well, "notwithstanding our political differences".

She added: "That he becomes the first British Asian to become PM is a genuinely significant moment. It certainly makes this a special Diwali."

Rishi Sunak lit Diwali candles outside 11 Downing Street two years ago

Mr Sunak is a practising Hindu and has previously, as chancellor, lit Diwali candles outside number 11 Downing Street.

However, Ms Sturgeon called for a general election and urged Mr Sunak not to "unleash another round of austerity".

She added: "For Scotland, of course, he becomes another PM we did not and, without doubt would not vote for even if given the chance.

"To escape the damage of Westminster governments with no mandate here, and take our future into our own hands, Scotland needs independence."

Mr Sunak has said he wants to abandon the Westminster "devolve and forget" mentality and lead "the most active UK-wide government in decades".

That means UK ministers taking more interest in areas which were devolved to Holyrood in 1999, in a bid to remind Scots that they have two governments working for them.

He actually started this approach as Chancellor, rolling out "levelling up funds" across the UK - spending money directly on local projects in Scotland.

Cash-strapped councils are not known to turn their nose up at funding, and even some run by the SNP lined up to apply for a share.

But Scottish ministers hate the idea of Holyrood being cut out of the loop, and characterise any move which could cut across devolved areas as a Westminster power grab.

• Read more from Phil on what the new prime minister will mean for Scotland

Earlier, the SNP's leader at Westminster Ian Blackford revealed he had written to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who, as the leader of the opposition in the House of Commons, is the only MP who can submit the formal vote of no confidence motion.

"It's right with the shambles that we've got, with the Tory support having cratered through the floor, with the economic crisis that they have made worse, that we need to put this to the people," Mr Blackford told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also called for a general election, and said the new prime minister had "no mandate to lead".

"Changing the person at the top won't stop the rot," he tweeted after the announcement that Mr Sunak had won the contest without a vote. "The Tories have crashed our economy and are now trying to fix a mess of their own making."

He added: "We need stability and leadership - that means a general election."

Mr Sarwar, who was the first leader of a UK political party from a non-white minority ethnic group, later pointed out the significance of Britain's first prime minister of South Asian heritage.

"It's not something our grandparents would ever have imagined when they made the UK home," he said.