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Following the resignation of Liz Truss after 50 days in office, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak won the second Conservative Leadership election of 2022 to become the United Kingdom鈥檚 Prime Minister. Whilst still in its infancy, the Sunak Government has inherited an economy facing numerous domestic challenges, alongside the immediate and foremost security concerns over Russia鈥檚 continued war with Ukraine. 

Amid these challenges, Mr. Sunak contends with significant hurdles in shoring up domestic whilst still advancing his predecessors鈥� primary goal of building a post-Brexit 鈥楪lobal Britain鈥�. Both hard and soft power projection face significant challenges amid economic uncertainty and tightening fiscal policy following substantial Government interventions to provide for millions of UK households.

A large degree of continuity has persisted between the Johnson, Truss and Sunak Governments, with continued focus on Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine as the foremost security concern facing the UK. In a similar move to Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak鈥檚 first phone call was made to , reaffirming the UK鈥檚 support for Ukraine. Although it is largely symbolic, such a call is necessary to dispel any notions that the UK鈥檚 domestic economic challenges will prevent it from seeking a sustainable international position.

Uncertainty persists over Mr. Sunak鈥檚 position on China. It is unclear whether Mr. Sunak will fulfil Liz Truss鈥� ambition to officially list China as a , which would mark a significant shift in diplomatic rhetoric. Doing so would align with comments made by the PM during 2022鈥檚 first Conservative leadership election, where 鈥淐hina is the biggest long term threat to Britain and the world鈥檚 economic and national security鈥�, alongside promising measures to ban CCP-funded Confucius Institutes in the UK. 

Mr. Sunak has so far only discussed China with President Biden, confirmed by a . Having spoken to several other leaders, including Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Indian PM Narendra Modi, it is unclear whether the topic of China-containment arose. 

There is an urgent need to assert the UK鈥檚 China policy, with both international and domestic events hopefully setting the impetus to do so sooner. This has been highlighted by a recent altercation at the where protestors were beaten by consular security; the consul-general Zheng Xiyuan was accused of attacking a protester.

The ensuant diplomatic fallout has emphasised the need for the Sunak Government to coordinate a coherent China policy to prevent similar fiascos and ensuant diplomatic escalation. This story broke alongside revelations that retired UK military pilots have been given jobs in China to raising concerns over potentially significant security breaches.

Failures in China-policy making also risks drawing the ire of the Conservative party鈥檚 China hawks, the foremost of which, Tom Tugendhat, sits on the Sunak Cabinet as Security Minister. As a Parliamentary caucus growing in influence, Mr. Sunak must endeavour to keep these MPs on-side. 

Sunak also faces a potential budgetary showdown over defence spending. Despite assurances from both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss that, by 2030, the UK鈥檚 defence budget would rise to 2.5 percent and 3 percent respectively, Rishi Sunak has so far avoided a 3 percent commitment. In August Mr. Sunak referred to as an 鈥渁rbitrary target鈥�. Despite its symbolic nature, this figure carries political weight for members of Mr. Sunak鈥檚 Cabinet, such as junior Defence Minister James Heappey, who threatened to quit Liz Truss鈥� administration - a threat which presumably applies to the new Government too. 

Even if Mr. Sunak committed to this figure, the UK鈥檚 current economic outlook may prevent it in the short to medium term. Whilst the November 17 fiscal plan announcement will provide clarity on the future of the UK鈥檚 economy, both Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have warned of difficult times ahead, with the expectation that some departments face spending cuts of . 

These cuts come at a critical time for UK hard power procurement, particularly for the Ministry of Defence鈥檚 efforts to replace the significant number of military systems which have been donated to Ukraine. This is demonstrated by a recent report which suggests approximately half of the is yet to be replaced following donations to Kyiv. This factor alone could have a long term impact on future donations to the Ukrainian armed forces. In addition, inflation will raise the cost of defence procurements. 

The Sunak Government also risks diminishing their soft power status on issues such as climate change, in part due to the uncertainty over whether Mr. Sunak will attend the upcoming UN COP 27 Climate Summit in Egypt. Despite previous reports that the PM chose to in order to focus on domestic issues, No.10 has just walked back this claim and confirmed . This initial uncertainty comes after the UK hosted COP 26 in 2021, where Mr. Sunak argued Britain has a 鈥渞esponsibility鈥� to lead climate change financing. Had Mr. Sunak chosen ultimately not to attend COP 27, it could risk diminishing the UK鈥檚 position in climate change leadership, and by extension the UK soft power projection.

Rishi Sunak therefore faces several hurdles to maintaining a consistent foreign policy to address the international challenges facing the UK. Despite a large degree of continuity between the successive Conservative Governments of 2022, Mr. Sunak has inherited significant economic hardship and will be compelled to act in accordance to restore public finances whilst maintaining the UK鈥檚 image abroad.