Liz Truss has offered her "full support" to Rishi Sunak after it was announced that he will be the new Prime Minister.
Mr Sunak was confirmed as the next PM after Penny Mordaunt pulled out of the leadership race earlier on Monday.
That came after former PM Boris Johnson announced on Sunday evening that he wouldn't be running.
"Congratulations Rishi Sunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister.
Liz Truss
Kirsty O'Connor
"You have my full support."
Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey, a close ally of Ms Truss, said that the Tory party must now get behind Mr Sunak.
Asked by reporters if Mr Sunak was an election winner, she said: “I think he certainly won an election this week.”
“We need to get behind him and I will do whatever I can to help support him in making sure that he is in the best place possible in his role as prime minister but also in winning the next election.”
While Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged Mr Sunak to call an early general election.
Rishi Sunak
Belinda Jiao
She tweeted: “Congratulations to @RishiSunak, I wish him well and, notwithstanding our political differences, will do my best to build a constructive working relationship with him in the interests of those we serve.
“That he becomes the first British Asian, indeed the first from any minority ethnic background, to become PM is a genuinely significant moment. It certainly makes this a special #Diwali.
“As for the politics, I’d suggest one immediate decision he should take and one he certainly should not. He should call an early general election. And he should not, must not, unleash another round of austerity. Our public services will not withstand that.
“For Scotland, of course, he becomes another PM we did not and, without doubt would not vote for even if given the chance. To escape the damage of Westminster governments with no mandate here, and take our future into our own hands, Scotland needs independence.”
Speaking after she pulled out of the race, Ms Penny Mordaunt said: “This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party.
“Rishi has my full support.
“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.”