After serving for almost 3 years, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson resigned from his position as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on July 7, 2022. Although, the replacement of the former PM will take time to get appointed. Multiple Conservative Party MPs are coming forward to embattle for the next Conservative leader and Prime Minister. The top contender though is Rishi Sunak, the Indian Origin British Politician who is the MP for Richmond (Yorks) and Former Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In this article, we will learn more about Rishi Sunak, his connections to India, and his political journey.
Early Life, Education, and the Indian Connection:
Born in 1980 in Southampton, Rishi Sunak (42) is the eldest child of Yashvir and Usha Sunak. His father was born in Kenya and his mother in Tanganyika (now part of the United Republic of Tanzania). His grandparents were from Punjab Province, British India, and emigrated to East Africa and later to the UK in the 1960s. Sunak’s father was a National Health Service family General Practitioner and his mother used to run her own local chemist shop.
Sunak attended Stroud School in Ramsey, Hampshire, and Winchester College. He graduated from Lincoln College, Oxford in 2001 in Economics, Politics, and Philosophy. He also gained an MBA from Stanford University and won a Fulbright Scholarship.
Sunak is married to Akshata Murty who is the daughter of Narayan Murty, the co-founder of the Indian Multinational IT Company, Infosys. The couple has two daughters Krishna and Anoushka.
Business and Political Career:
Rishi Sunak has worked with Goldman Sachs and was a partner in The Children’s Investment Fund Management. He later went on to join Theleme partners, a new hedge fund firm launched in 2010.
Long before Sunak was selected as the Conservative MP for Richmond (Yorks) in 2015, he worked as an intern at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters during his graduation days. In 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Sunak as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He was promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2020 at the age of 39, from which he resigned on 5 July 2022. Sunak became one of the first to quit the cabinet amidst the stream of resignations.
Sunak presented his first budget in March 2020, where he included additional spending of £30 billion for the mitigation of economic effects caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same month, he also announced an emergency fund of £330 billion to support businesses and job retention of employees. It was the first time the British government introduced such an employee retention scheme. Both these funds received a mixed reaction from the people.
Sunak is the rising star of the Conservative Party and also has a smooth social media presence. He is currently the favorite PM candidate, as per betting odds by Oddschecker.
Controversies and Allegations:
Sunak was fined by the British Police for attending Boris Johnson’s birthday party at Downing Street amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. He has also been criticized for his financial policies such as his very expensive Job Retention Scheme, insufficient cost of living funds, etc. He was alleged of held his U.S. permanent resident card even after taking his position as the Chancellor. Sunak was also caught up in a personal controversy where his wife, Akshata Murty evaded an estimated tax of £20 million on her overseas income.
Rishi Sunak has launched a #Ready4Rishi campaign on Twitter and there are many Twitteratis who are not supporting it:
https://twitter.com/MarkKieranUK/status/1545451454982488064
I’m not #Ready4Rishi, neither are 3+ million #Excluded. @RishiSunak is not the polished politician he wants you to believe. He’s a liar, a law breaker and he’s clueless about what is best for Britain. HE CANNOT BE THE NEXT PM. #NOTHANKS #NotReady4Rishi #FBEUA @OfficialEUA https://t.co/CdHXNuEsAv
— Excluded and Forgotten (@AndExcluded) July 8, 2022
“Restore trust” – you stood by and let Johnson break it. “Rebuild the economy” – you’ve been in charge of it for the last 3 years…you broke it. A useless phoney in a smart suit, is no different to the useless phoney in a scruffy one, the one he wants to replace #ready4rishi https://t.co/vn1nQXWner
— Jack Rickus (@4rickus4) July 8, 2022
⚫ 30th Nov 2021 the first Partygate allegations emerged.
⚫ 8th Dec the Stratton video was 'leaked'.
⚫ 19th Dec the 'Wine & Cheese Party' photo was leaked.
⚫ 23rd Dec the 'Ready For Rishi' campaign website was registeredCoincidence or snake in the grass..#Ready4Rishi pic.twitter.com/x0epqAKBOB
— Fletch (@Paul_Kearns01) July 8, 2022
