Rishi Sunak: New PM a friend to Wales - top Welsh Tory

A senior Welsh Conservative has described the next Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a "friend of Wales", who "understands the challenges we face".

He will take office in coming days, and Andrew RT Davies, the Tories' Senedd leader, urged the party's MPs to unite.

But the main Welsh opposition parties said he has "no mandate" and repeated their calls for a general election.

Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford urged Mr Sunak to "work constructively" with him in "these difficult times".

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Rishi Sunak will become the UK's first British Asian PM

Tweeting in the moments after the appointment was confirmed, Mr Davies said: "I know that colleagues in Westminster will realise the real need to come together to deliver for the people of Wales and the United Kingdom.

"As a friend of Wales, Rishi understands the challenges we face, with high energy bills, high inflation, and household budgets being stretched to breaking point.

"I look forward to working with him to tackle those challenges."

Mr Davies added that it was important to celebrate the UK's first British Asian and Hindu prime minister.

Former Conservative Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb said the announcement "ends the political uncertainty".

'Maybe he can help'

Businesses and residents in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, reacted to the new occupant of 10 Downing Street.

Mary Caldwell, from The Deli on the Hill, said: "I feel he is solid and he will help us through.

Business owner Mary Caldwell is optimistic about the help Mr Sunak will provide as PM

"We are very concerned - there's no question the high street is quieter. The higher luxury areas are suffering.

"The small business is the backbone of Britain. We employ, they have money to spend."

Omer Akca says a top priority for the new PM needs to be addressing 'quiet' high streets

Omer Akca, owner of Gino's Tailoring, was hoping for the return of Boris Johnson as prime minister, but echoed Ms Caldwell's hope for business support.

He said: "Maybe [Rishi Sunak] can help, I hope he's ok. Business is quiet, everywhere quiet."

The PM must help preserve the businesses people have worked hard to build up, says Hayley Morgan of The Twisted Tree

Hayley Morgan, owner of The Twisted Tree gift shop, added: "I just want somebody to address the key issues: cost of living, energy.

"I don't want the deterioration of the high street. Here in Prestatyn we have worked hard to establish [it]."

Mike Hall, visiting Wales from Birmingham, is not convinced that Rishi Sunak is the best choice

However, Mike Hall, visiting Wales from Birmingham is not convinced after watching Mr Sunak's performance as chancellor.

He said: "I wish him the best of luck getting everything straight, but I feel it's him giving stuff away that got us into this in the first place."

Ethan Harvey, a Conservative Party member from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, told BBC Radio Wales Drive that he had voted for Liz Truss in the last leadership contest.

He said: "She came in at a difficult time. It's about helping people now, through the winter, help them pay their bills. It's really important we do that, and party comes second."

Edward Dawson, chair of Merthyr Tydfil Conservatives and regional chair for south east Wales, added: "People who do need help, in Wales and elsewhere, cannot be left behind.

"I've talked to Rishi. He understands that, he knows this is a key part of his job in the short term. Not that there won't be difficulties, and there will be upsets along the way."

"No-one voted for this," says Labour's Jo Stevens

Labour shadow Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: "No-one voted for this. It's time for a general election."

While First Minister Mark Drakeford tweeted his congratulations in Welsh to Mr Sunak, and added: "The UK desperately needs a period of stability and cooperation to focus on the many challenges we face.

"I hope we're able to work constructively together to support people through these difficult times in a way that your predecessors didn't allow."

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts, said: "The anti-democratic nature of the Westminster system has been laid bare for all to see. Rishi Sunak has no mandate, no legitimacy. Democracy demands a general election.

"Rishi Sunak's coronation may soothe the financial markets in the short term, but the Tory party is still riven with factions who will be jostling for the upper hand at critical votes."

Liz Saville Roberts MP says the Tory party is still 'riven with factions'

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said: "The problem is clearly not any single prime minister or minister, but the Conservative Party as an institution which continues to put its own wellbeing above that of the country's and is so internally divided it cannot hope to produce a well-functioning government.

"Rishi Sunak showed time and time again in his role as chancellor that he was out of touch with the struggles ordinary people faced, whether it's paying their heating bills or being able to access key public services.

"The public has lost trust in the Conservatives and Sunak does not have a mandate from the people, we need a general election now to get us out of this perpetual chaos and give the country fresh hope."

Youngest PM in more than 100 years

Mr Sunak will succeed Liz Truss seven weeks after she defeated him in the previous Tory contest, following her resignation just 45 days into her tumultuous premiership last week.

The ex-chancellor gained the support of more than half of Tory MPs, with Penny Mordaunt struggling to reach the 100 MP threshold.

He will become the UK's first British Asian PM and, at the age of 42, the youngest in more than a century.

Ms Mordaunt, who dropped out of the Tory leadership race in the final minutes before nominations closed, said Mr Sunak has her "full support".