Rishi Sunak: The downfall of the frontrunner to become the next prime minister

READ MORE: Liz Truss wins Tory leadership contest to become next PM

It will likely feel like a missed opportunity for Mr Sunak as he was instead forced to acknowledge the Foreign Secretary will be the one who “steers the country through difficult times”.

Mr Sunak’s shock resignation as chancellor alongside then UK health secretary Sajid Javid on July 5, sent the dominoes tumbling that ultimately brought down Boris Johnson.

Rishi Sunak (Image: PA)

The 42-year-old was hotly regarded as the obvious successor in Downing Street – gaining acknowledgement with the public during the early stages of the pandemic.

But Mr Sunak’s popularity hit the skids – with a mountain of criticism thrown his way over the Treasury’s response to the emergency and then personally being caught up in the partygate scandal which angered the public – and stories emerging that painted him as completely out of touch during a cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Sunak was the frontrunner to replace Mr Johnson – the most popular with Tory MPs who whittled the shortlist of candidates down to just two. But he was unable to cut through to the 172,437 Tory members who ultimately picked the next prime minister.

READ MORE: 'Terrible for Scotland': Warning as Liz Truss to be next Prime Minister

As the UK and the rest of the world was thrown into crisis at the start of the pandemic, Mr Sunak rose to popularity after rolling out the furlough scheme which saved millions of jobs as the economy floundered.

The then-chancellor’s personal image has been carefully constructed – branded ‘Rishi’ with a prolific social media campaign to set out his leadership credentials.

But his attitude to the economy and his mantra while chancellor has seen his popularity plummet with Tory members – with the Treasury and Mr Johnson’s administration at loggerheads over how to boost the economy, tackle soaring levels of inflation and provide enough cash to solve the cost-of-living crisis.

When Mr Johnson entered No 10 in July 2019, Mr Sunak was handed a dramatic promotion to the Cabinet as treasury chief secretary.

An even bigger step up followed just seven months later when Mr Javid quit as chancellor after rejecting a demand to sack all his advisers and Mr Sunak was put in charge of the UK’s finances, at the age of just 39.

But within a fortnight of his first Budget, the new chancellor, who labelled himself as a traditional small-state, low-tax Tory, had no choice but to spend hundreds of billions of cash to keep the economy afloat.

READ MORE: Profile: Who is 'child of the union' Liz Truss?

As the UK finally emerged from the pandemic, Mr Sunak was at odds with Mr Johnson and fellow Tory MPs over plans to raise taxes as part of a rebuilding strategy.

Mr Sunak was then embroiled in the partygate scandal, receiving a fine, along with Mr Johnson, for attending a gathering to mark the Prime Minister’s birthday, even though he claimed only to have gone into No 10 to attend a meeting.

There was more criticism thrown his way when it emerged his wife had “non dom” status for tax purposes – an arrangement which reportedly saved her millions – while he had retained a US “green card”, entitling him to permanent residence in the United States.

The optics were terrible – suggesting Mr Sunak was out of touch with millions of people struggling to balance the books.

And it has been a step too far for Tory members – who have declined to put their trust in the man in charge of the finances during the pandemic to dig the UK out of the deep cost-of-living crisis.