Labour leaders in Sunderland make fresh calls for a General Election following victory of Rishi Sunak in race to succeed Liz Truss as Prime Minister and Conservative Party chief

The former chancellor is preparing to step into the top job after Penny Mordaunt – his rival challenger to replace Downing Street’s outgoing tenant, Liz Truss – dropped out of the contest.

Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, confirmed on Monday (October 24) afternoon that just one candidate had been confirmed in the race and therefore Mr Sunak would be the next leader of the party.

But the process by which the 42-year-old has been able to reach the UK’s highest political office thanks to just 357 parliamentarians has been slammed by opposition figures.

"At the end of the day, we have Conservative MPs electing the next Prime Minister,” said Graeme Miller, the Labour leader of Sunderland City Council.

"I am absolutely at a loss for the total lack of democracy there and how this takes us forward as a government and as a country given the financial situation that we are in.

"The British public are crying out for a General Election because they have no faith and no trust in this Conservative government, whether it is led by Rishi Sunak or anybody else.

"I am not at all surprised, but genuinely disappointed for the people of the United Kingdom."

Mr Sunak will be the UK’s first Hindu prime minister, the first of Asian heritage and the youngest for more than 200 years.

Without a rival challenger among his fellow Conservative MPs, he will enter No 10 unopposed and avoid an online ballot of the Conservative members that rejected him for Ms Truss last month.

Ms Truss, slammed by Cllr MIller as the “worst Prime Minister in living memory”, announced she was stepping down last week.

Following Mr Sunak’s victory, Antony Mullen, leader of the city council’s Conservative opposition group, who initially backed Ms Mordaunt for the top job, called the new Tory leader the “right leader for the current challenges”.

He said: “His [Sunak’s] experience is in finance and in the Treasury and the challenge facing the country is an economic one.”

Addressing criticisms about the closed nature of the contest – not least from Conservative Party members denied a chance to choose their next leader and Prime Minister – Cllr Mullen said his party needed to avoid the divisions between paying members and MPs which dogged the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

He added: “While party members might think think they should have had a vote, in the national interest stable leadership is more important and that can only e guaranteed by someone with the confidence of the House of Commons.

“There are people of the view that they pay their membership fees and so should get a vote, but they have to accept that if the current crop of MPs are the ones who will form a government.

But Labour’s Washington and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson said the latest contest showed the need for a General Election.

She said: “Rishi Sunak has no mandate, and has no idea what the people of Washington and Sunderland West need. It's time for a general election and the chance for a fresh start with Labour.”