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The UK is set to have its richest ever Prime Minister as Tory MPs crowned Rishi Sunak Britain's next leader in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

The man once dubbed "Dishy Rishi, Finance Fitty" will now become the second Conservative Prime Minister in a row to run the country without winning a general election, after challenger Penny Mordaunt was unable to gather the support of 100 MPs for her own leadership bid.

Mordaunt waited until one minute before the 2pm Monday deadline to confirm she was pulling out of the running.

Ex-PM Boris Johnson had previously ruled himself out of the contest on Sunday night (October 23), despite jetting back from a Caribbean holiday to run and claiming he did in fact have the 102 backers and nominators required.

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However, only 60 MPs had publicly declared for him by the time he quit the race, and it remains unclear who his 40 other backers actually were.

Despite enjoying widespread public support, the Daily Star Lettuce – which helped topple lacklustre Liz Truss after just 44 days in Downing Street – was barred from entering the race and romaines a political outsider.

Rishi Sunak, who The Sunday Times Rich List estimates to be worth £730m, will move into No.10 Downing Street with the UK in the grip of a cost of living crisis.

When he is officially appointed, the MP for Richmond will become the richest PM in history, beating out the 14th Earl of Derby, Edward Stanley, who was worth around £444m in today's money when he last lead the country back in 1868.

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Sunak – who was fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaking lockdown rules during the Partygate scandal earlier this year – will now effectively receive a “coronation” from Conservative MPs and quickly succeed Liz Truss as Prime Minister.

It has been just seven weeks since he lost out to her in the last contest.

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A Government source had previously said he could be in place as soon as Monday if the Tory leadership contest does not progress further.

The pound, after a torrid time under Ms Truss, continued to rise and the gilt market cooled, making it cheaper for the Government to borrow money, as Mr Sunak edged towards No 10.

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As she dropped out of the race, Mordaunt said: “I am proud of the campaign we ran and grateful to all those, across all sides of our party, who gave me their backing.

“We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation. There is much work to be done.”

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