Watch: Manchester residents react to Rishi Sunak’s appointment as PM

People in Manchester were swift to react to the news that Rishi Sunak is the new prime minister, voicing a range of views.

Ardwick resident Anthony Dempsey, 70, described the incoming PM as ‘a waste of time’ – suggesting he’d rather have seen Boris Johnson complete an audacious return to 10 Downing Street.

We've been asking the people of Manchester what they think about the announcement that Rishi Sunak will be the new PM.

Here's Anthony Dempsey, 70, from Ardwick: pic.twitter.com/SQ0df2VGdi

— Mancunian Matters (@MM_newsonline) October 24, 2022

Former Cheetham Hill resident Jim Ellis, on the other hand, remembers Sunak’s role in tackling the Covid pandemic in 2020, when Johnson was prime minister – and would rather have a general election.

Jim Ellis from Rugby, who used to live in Cheetham Hill, remembers Sunak's role in the early days of the pandemic: pic.twitter.com/13edJAHMTd

— Mancunian Matters (@MM_newsonline) October 24, 2022

Sociologist Chris Waugh, from Rusholme, agrees about a general election, describing Sunak taking office without one as ‘a failure of democracy’.

Chris Waugh, a sociology professor from Rusholme, describes Sunak's appointment as "a failure of democracy": pic.twitter.com/gxt3NCNRba

— Mancunian Matters (@MM_newsonline) October 24, 2022