The five steps Rishi Sunak should take after becoming prime minister

1. Sunak should manage the Conservative parliamentary party with care and attention

Even Boris Johnson realised (belatedly) that being able to hold together the Conservative parliamentary party is now fundamental to stability for the government. Rishi Sunak needs to prioritise this to get things done in government, but also to avoid an early general election. While the 2019 majority is the constitutional reason why the Conservatives can change leader without a general election, it cannot be taken for granted. A government as chaotic as the one led by Liz Truss, or a government that cannot get its business through parliament, will, as it did in 2019, lead to increased pressure to resolve the situation through a general election.

The widespread support of his parliamentary colleagues will give Sunak a bit more of a honeymoon than Truss’s blunders afforded her, but Sunak needs to learn from both Johnson’s and Truss’s mistakes. Johnson marched his MPs up one embarrassing hill after another only to frustrate his supporters by repeatedly u-turning. And last Wednesday’s calamitous fracking vote should serve to remind Sunak that while an experienced chief whip is necessary, a clear and consistent No.10 strategy is also needed. With many difficult choices on some very big issues coming, Sunak’s operation needs to proactively engage with backbenchers on policy and legislation well before matters come to a head, and to pick where he wants to use to assert his authority. A majority can make a prime minister's journey far more straightforward, but a majority can quickly lose its bearings if No.10 is unable to explain the direction of travel. 

Catherine Haddon

2. Sunak should show that he means what he said on standards and integrity

In his statement announcing he was running again, Sunak said “there will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead”, a clear riposte to Boris Johnson, whose premiership was brought down by repeated scandal. While integrity and ethical standards were not top of the list of issues that Sunak and Liz Truss debated over the summer, Truss committed to taking the issue seriously herself. During her short tenure, she dismissed Conor Burns after allegations of inappropriate behaviour at Conservative Party Conference and forced Suella Braverman to resign as home secretary after an alleged breach of the ministerial code (though this was not the only reason for her departure).

Sunak should go further than Truss and set out a plan for how government can clean itself up. He should appoint an independent adviser on ministerial interests as soon as possible, filling the vacancy created by Lord Geidt’s resignation in June. Sunak should also give the adviser proper powers to start their own investigations and recommend sanctions for breaches of the ministerial code – though leaving the final decision for the prime minister. But repairing the damage done to standards in recent years will not be easy. Sunak should implement the recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Nigel Boardman, to rebuild trust in government and tackle potential conflicts of interest for ministers, special advisers and civil servants. Most importantly though, Sunak needs to lead from the top and show that he will not allow his government to become bogged down in scandal and misbehaviour.

Tim Durrant

3. Sunak should appoint a loyal and experienced No.10, but don’t mess with the structure too soon

Rishi Sunak will have observed No.10 from next door, and famously went along with Boris Johnson's and Dominic Cummings’s plan for a joint Treasury–No.10 team of special advisers. But experience as chancellor is very different to running the show. As Sunak heads to Downing Street, there are a few simple points to keep in mind to help him run a functional No.10.

First, do appoint special advisers who you trust, are loyal and share your agenda for government. Your ‘chief of staff’ and top political team need to extend your reach across departments and to take vast numbers of decisions on your behalf. They need clear direction from the prime minister, to know your mind, work to your priorities and to have your best interests at heart.

Second, prioritise experience. People who have worked in the centre of government before will be invaluable. They know what works and what does not, understand the pressure-cooker of No.10 and will help cut through the noise. Don’t appoint co-pilots with no experience to help you fly the plane.

Third, by all means re-organise the structures in No.10 but don’t do it straight away. Prioritise getting the right political advisers in first, get to know the civil servants in the building, then settle down to see what is working well and where things need to change. Liz Truss radically and immediately slimmed down her No.10, which didn’t work out so well. That means there may be scope to grow, but equally Boris Johnson’s ended up too big and chaotic. Taking a little time to organise in a way that works for you, without ripping up what went before, will give you a better shot at running a coherent centre of government.

Alex Thomas

4. Sunak should set out a coherent programme for government

The new prime minister has an opportunity to set out consistent, coherent policy direction for government. The last few years have been troubled by disjointed – even incompatible – policies, back-of-the-envelope ‘red meat’ policy announcements with little serious analysis behind them, and a damaging series of u-turns. This is a chance to move on from that.

Sunak has yet to set out an agenda for his premiership. But he and his supporters have said he will deliver on the ‘promise’ of the 2019 manifesto. This was the last clear, united statement of policy intent from the Conservative Party, and Sunak should certainly be straight on which policies from the manifesto he plans to maintain, including giving clarity on the fate of major reforms like levelling up.

But this is a different world to 2019 and it is right that he makes changes too. Sunak needs to set out how he will deal with today’s challenges – where spending cuts will fall, how he will approach any tax rises and how he plans to manage the perilous state of core public services. The 2019 manifesto was always a disjointed document, setting out ambitious spending pledges, which were irreconcilable with simultaneous promises to hold down taxes, reduce debt and not borrow to fund day-to-day spending. This is a chance to set out a more coherent programme for government. Sunak shouldn’t rush this. There are some decisions, not least on the medium-term fiscal event, that will need to happen quickly. But one of the tests for the new prime minister will be whether he takes the time to approach policy, and policy making, differently.

Emma Norris

5. Sunak should develop and explain a credible fiscal plan

Liz Truss’s government failed principally as a result of the fallout from her mini-budget. Rishi Sunak will now need to develop a plan for tax and spending, alongside his chancellor, that is consistent with sustainable public finances in the medium term.

As Jeremy Hunt has laid out in recent weeks, that will require either taxes rising or spending increasing less quickly than previously planned. With tax already at a high level historically, and his party opposed to higher taxes, and public services struggling after the pandemic which followed a decade of squeezed budgets, these are difficult choices.

Whether he goes ahead with the medium-term fiscal plan next Monday or waits until later this autumn, that statement will be the opportunity to lay out his preferred way forward. If he can announce a plan that is politically deliverable and credible, he will hope to calm markets and so – by lowering expected interest rates – give himself more fiscal wiggle room and make his choices a little easier. Either way, economic and fiscal management is likely to dominate this ex-chancellor’s premiership.

Thomas Pope