Rishi Sunak Makes History

Photo Courtesy: Getty Images

The Conservative Party has now concluded their second leadership election of the year, with the latest one being executed much faster than the last, lasting just four days. Rishi Sunak became party leader after exceeding the threshold of 100 MP nominations set by the 1922 Committee. 

In one respect, Sunak’s premiership is a testament to the diversity that has now positively penetrated all levels of British society owing to his status as the first British Asian prime minister of the United Kingdom. In another respect, the reasons to celebrate his election will be clouded by the profound challenges that lie ahead which have forced both of the last two occupants of No. 10 into a tug-of-war contest between rebuilding the UK economy and remedying the profound impacts of the pandemic and subsequent events. Many hope that Sunak can see our country through the challenges ahead. Others have cast significant doubt over whether a man of his wealth can truly understand the day-to-day challenges of ordinary Brits enough to make meaningful changes. 

Sunak has clearly had his eyes on the keys to No. 10 for a while—probably as early as December last year when Johnson’s premiership began its protracted fall amid the carnage caused by several scandals. In his initial bid to be PM from August to September, Sunak based his campaign on being frank and honest about the initial pain the UK economy will need to endure if it is to have any chance of resuscitation. He repeatedly shot down Liz Truss’ economic proposals of cutting taxes—unfunded ones at that—as being dangerous fairy tales designed to lull some 180,000 Tory members into a false sense of optimism, while being completely myopic to the challenges that were imminent. For the most part, Sunak executed his campaign with genuine honesty and truth—even going so far as to say that he’d “rather lose” than win on false promises. Despite forecasting word-for-word what would happen to the UK economy should Truss win the leadership, she nonetheless became victor by around 21,000 votes. Her 45-day premiership came to a painful end after losing control of her parliamentary party nearly a week ago. 

The reason why a brief analysis of that leadership contest is more crucial now is because there was no platform for any would-be candidates in the most recent one to lay out their ideas, in part due to its expedited nature. So, any speculation of what we can expect from Sunak can only be derived from the one earlier in the year. Undoubtedly, his foretelling of risky tax policies has given confidence to many that he will indeed be the man who has a clear understanding of the economy, and who can deliver steady, sensible, and serious policies going forward.

Sunak is ethnically Indian and Hindu like his parents. As a result, he proudly practices his faith, remains teetotal, and is a self-proclaimed Coca-Cola addict—his obsession with the beverage supposedly beginning while studying at Stanford University in the US. He has prompted praise from MPs across the House of Commons for becoming the first British Asian PM of the UK. Many will see this as a win for the community and it will invariably ignite a wave of aspiration across those communities in the UK.

Sunak has been exceptionally successful in his business career, amassing wealth of about £700mn. However, this has casted doubt on his ability to understand the struggles of families in the UK, mainly by opposition MPs. It is unavoidable to acknowledge that several scandals have not favored Sunak in this respect. But Sunak cites the furlough scheme and windfall-tax as occasions where he concretely demonstrated his ability to execute policies in a compassionate conservative manner to save many from the excruciating pressures of the pandemic.

All in all, Sunak’s premiership is a sigh of relief. Pound Sterling hit an all time low after Truss announced her ‘mini-budget,’ but it has slowly been climbing back up—from £1/$1.03 to £1/$1.16—showing that Sunak is successfully reassuring the markets. The Conservative Party is also more unified now than it has been all year. Even Sunak’s most senior and out-spoken critics have coalesced behind him and have shown full support. For example, Jacob Rees-Mogg—who earlier this year said Mr Sunak was an unsuccessful and even “socialist” chancellor—has urged his colleagues to give Sunak their full support. 

Sunak is the man to fix the country and is exactly what the party needs. We, in turn, should be optimistic for the future under his leadership.