Rishi Sunak's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 25 October 2022 when he accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government, succeeding Liz Truss, and ended on 5 July 2024 upon his resignation.

In 2023, Sunak outlined five key priorities: halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting debt, reducing NHS waiting lists, and stopping the illegal small-boat crossings of the English Channel (by enacting the Rwanda asylum plan).

During the campaign, Sunak pledged to included tax cuts only when inflation was under control, scrapping of the 5% VAT rate on household energy for one year, introducing a temporary £10 fine for patients who fail to attend GP appointments, capping of refugee numbers, and a tightening of the definition of asylum.

Following a change of rules by the 1922 Committee, each potential leader needed the support of at least 100 MPs to be a candidate in the vote, with a deadline of 2 pm on 24 October to secure enough nominations.

[16] In his first speech as prime minister, Sunak promised "integrity, professionalism and accountability," and said that "we will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made and fill tomorrow, and everyday thereafter with hope."

Of his predecessor, Sunak said that Truss "was not wrong" to want to improve growth and that he "admired her restlessness to create change", but admitted that "some mistakes were made", and that he was elected prime minister in part to fix them.

[18] In January 2023, Sunak outlined five key priorities; halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting debt, reducing NHS waiting lists, and stopping the boats, and expected voters to hold his government and himself to account on delivering those goals.

[22] In June 2024, the Office for National Statistics released figures which showed that the economy had grown by 0.7% between January and March, slightly higher than was predicted by previous forecasts, before ceasing to grow in April.

[24] In December 2022, Sunak was faced with the need to make concessions on a proposed ban on onshore wind farms to be contained in the government's Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

[30] The announcement was met with criticism from former prime minister David Cameron who said the cancellation would "make it much harder to build consensus for any future long-term projects".

[33] In his speech Sunak warned that as climate change ravages the planet there will be more human suffering and that because of inaction, people risk giving their children a desperate inheritance.

[36] The following day, Sunak hosted a coronation lunch outside 10 Downing Street, which was attended by volunteers, Ukrainian refugees and youth groups, and U.S. First Lady Jill Biden.

[49][50][51] In August 2023 the government ordered over 100 schools to be closed down for repairs due to the presence of structurally unsound reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

[59] The bill would establish an independent body to support victims of major crimes and give government ministers the power to veto the parole of certain prisoners and restrict marriages from those serving whole life orders.

[61] In the same month, Sunak announced plans to crack down on violent crime by increasing penalties for the illegal sale of zombie knives and widening the powers of police officers to allow them to seize weapons with "no practical use" more easily.

[68] The Post Office (Horizon Systems) Offences Act, which quashed all criminal convictions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland related to the scandal, was passed on 23 May 2024 and came into force immediately after receiving royal assent the following day, making it one of the last bills to become law before the 2024 general election.

[79] The Windsor Framework was however opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who, for 22 months, refused to nominate a deputy First Minister to restore the Northern Ireland Executive.

[91] The Illegal Migration Bill was introduced in March 2023, proposing that people arriving via unofficial routes would be refused asylum and would be detained for at least 28 days before being removed to another safe country.

[104] Sunak was criticised by a number of Conservative MPs when it was revealed that the government had allowed around 16,000 asylum seekers to work in occupations with staff shortages such as care, construction and agriculture.

[131] The bill was widely criticised for measures termed as "draconian" by critics which included making it illegal for members of public bodies to say they would support a boycott if it were legal.

[61] On 12 January 2024, Sunak and US president Joe Biden authorised a series of missile strikes against Houthi militias in Yemen, in response to a large scale attack on British and American naval assets in the region two days earlier during Operation Prosperity Guardian.

[141][142] Gavin Williamson resigned in November 2022 after allegations that he had used improper language to Wendy Morton and had bullied several staffers during his time as a cabinet minister under Theresa May, to avoid being a distraction for Sunak's government.

[147] Sunak dismissed Zahawi immediately after he was found to have breached the Ministerial Code by failing to disclose that he was being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs while he served as chancellor under Johnson.

[155] According to The Guardian, the trigger for her sacking was an article written by her and published in The Times on 8 November 2023, which included a statement that there was "a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters" and were tougher on rightwing extremists than pro-Palestinian "mobs".

In January 2023, Sunak was issued a fixed penalty notice by Lancashire Constabulary after a social media video of him failing to wear a seat belt in a moving vehicle was published.

[179] The D:Ream song "Things Can Only Get Better" (frequently used by the Labour Party in its successful 1997 campaign) was being played loudly in the background by the political activist Steve Bray as Sunak announced the date of the general election.

[198] On 12 June 2024, it became known that Craig Williams, Sunak's parliamentary private secretary, who was standing for re-election in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, had placed a £100 bet on the election being in July, three days before this was announced.

[206][207][208] Responding to news of the controversy, Sunak said he was "incredibly angry" to learn of allegations that members of his party had betted on the date of the election, and that he would "boot out" anyone found to have broken the law.

Ministers who joined the cabinet in the first reshuffle included Greg Hands took over as Chairman of the Conservative Party from Nadhim Zahawi and Lucy Frazer became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport taking over from Michelle Donelan.

[220][221] The second reshuffle saw the return of former prime minister David Cameron to government following a seven-year absence from frontline politics, replacing James Cleverly as foreign secretary.