Before his spectacular fallout with Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak was on a meteoric rise that could still see him become Britain’s first prime minister of colour.
It would be a historic moment if a Hindu descendant of immigrants from India and East Africa were to take command of the world’s fifth-largest economy.
However, before making the final run-off following a series of votes by Conservative MPs, Sunak must first persuade the party’s members as ballot papers are distributed on Monday – and he is far behind Liz Truss.
Opinion polls show that she has outflanked him with policies aimed at the Tory right, which also distrusts Sunak’s role in the cabinet revolt that deposed Johnson after months of scandal.
The former chancellor of the exchequer, who amassed a fortune in finance prior to entering politics, has been chastised for being out of touch at a time when Britons are dealing with rising inflation.
On the campaign trail this month, he wore expensive Prada loafers to a construction site and was accused of “mansplaining” to Truss during a heated TV debate in which he slammed her tax-cutting proposals.
Instead, Sunak argues, Britain needs a Thatcherite dose of “sound money” to quell inflation and get growth back on track.
Dishy Rishi
Sunak, a detail-oriented policy wonk, was an early supporter of Brexit and took over as chancellor in February 2020. As the Covid pandemic erupted, it was a baptism of fire for the Tory rising star. He was forced to create a massive economic assistance package at breakneck speed, which he now claims must be paid off. Sunak is better known in India through his wife Akshata Murty. She is the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. The Sunaks met in California while studying, and they have two young daughters as well as a photogenic dog. The ex-minister’s Instagram-friendly profile earned him the media nickname of “Dishy Rishi”.
Waiter to wealth
Sunak is a Conservative member of the Richmond constituency in Yorkshire, northern England, which he took over in 2015 from former party leader and foreign secretary William Hague, who described him as “exceptional.”
Sunak takes the Bhagavad Gita as his oath of allegiance as an MP. In January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May appointed him as a junior minister for local government, parks, and troubled families.
Sunak’s grandparents were from Punjab and came to the United Kingdom from East Africa in the 1960s.
Sunak worked as a waiter at a local Indian restaurant before attending Oxford and then Stanford University in California. Sunak insists that both his family’s and his wife’s experiences are “very Conservative”
stories of hard work and aspiration. He’ll find out soon whether the other members of the party agree.
