Rishi Sunak has been named today the leader of the Conservative Party of the UK and therefore he should become the next PM of the UK in next days.
Just after being acclaimed as the leader of the tories, Sunak said: “I am humbled and honored to have the support of my parliamentary coleagues and to be elected as the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party. It is the gratest priviledge of my life to be able to serve theparty I love and gie back to the country I love so much. The United Kingdom is a great country but there is no doubt that we face a profound economic challenge. We now need stability and unity and I’ll make my utmost prioprity to bring our party and our country together, because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better more prosperous future for our childrenand our grandchildren.
I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility and I will work day in day out to deliver for the British people”.
Lizz Truss will keep the PM seat till the new leader of the Conservative Party is tasked with forming a new Government by HM the King Charles III.
A succession as fast as lighting, while Labor claims for anticipated elections.
Back to the candidate preferred by tory MPs to succeed Johnson
Sunak was the candidate selected by the members of the Conservative Group at the UK Parliament to succeed Boris Johnson, but he lost the militants vote, who preferred Liz Truss fairy promises of tax cuts with increased spend.
Instead Sunak promised while contendig against Truss he would “restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country”. He also said his values were “patriotism, fairness, hard work”.
Sunak’s pledges during the campaign to succeed Johnson included tax cuts only when inflation was under control, scrapping of the 5% VAT rate on household energy for one year, introducing a temporary £10 fine for patients who fail to attend GP appointments, capping of refugee numbers, and a tightening of the definition of asylum.
The new leader of the tories voted for the Brexit agreement negotiated by Theresa May, he also was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Boris Johnson. But he also resigned pushing the exit of Boris Johnson from 10th Downing Street.
In fact Conservative politicians who had supported Johnson criticised Sunak as “leading the charge in bringing down the prime minister”. Jacob Rees-Mogg (a key Johnson ally) called him a “high tax chancellor”.
Today Sunak reaches the lead of the Conservatives with no need to win any contest as both contenders, first Boris Johnson and then Penny Mordaunt pulled out from the run.
Rishi Sunak will reach the PM seat with the popular support to him at its lowest. While attitudes towards Sunak remained broadly positive in 2021 his popularity declined steadily over time.
In early 2022, with the cost of living becoming a growing focus of public concern, Sunak’s response, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was perceived as inadequate and he received some of his lowest approval ratings. His popularity continued falling as the Sunak family’s financial affairs came under scrutiny: his wife was blamed for not having her residence in the UK to avoid paying the taxes.
On the verge of a economic recession and with the Conservative party disgregated the task of putting the UK on the path of growth and harmony after the Brexit divide seems not easy. and probably will need some measures that will not improve precisely the popularity of Sunak.
Young, son of indian inmigrants and a Hindu but also one of the wealthiest men in the UK with a financial savvy profile
Born in the UK on 12 May 1980, from Indian parents who migrated from Africa to the UK in the 60s, Rishi Sunak is the eldest of their three children.
He attended Stroud School, a preparatory school in Romsey, Hampshire, and Winchester College, a boys’ independent boarding school, where he was head boy. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating with a first in 2001. During his time at university, he undertook an internship at Conservative Campaign Headquarters.In 2006, he gained an MBA from Stanford University, where he was a Fulbright scholar.
While studying at Standford he met Akshata Murty, whom he married later.
Akshata Murty is the daughter of the Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, the founder of the technology company Infosys.
She owns a 0.91% stake in Infosys, making her one of the wealthiest women in Britain. The stake in Infosys was valued at about $900m (£746m) in April 2022.
While he has tried to observe a behavior close to the average people (He was a waiter at a curry house in Southampton during his summer holidays while he studied at Winchester) Sunak is mainly criticized for not being in touch with the needs of the average English.
In April 2022, it was reported that Sunak and Murty had moved out of 11 Downing Street to a newly refurbished luxury West London home.The Sunday Times Rich List 2022 named Sunak and Murty the 222nd wealthiest people in the UK, with an estimated combined wealth of £730 million, making Sunak the “first frontline politician to join the rich list”
Leaving aside his experience as a politician and Minister in different Governments Rishi Sunak has worked as an analyst for the investment bank Goldman Sachs between 2001 and 2004. He then worked for hedge fund management firm the Children’s Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in September 2006. He left in November 2009 to join former colleagues in California at a new hedge fund firm, Theleme Partners, which launched in October 2010 with $700 million under management. He has been as well a director of the investment firm Catamaran Ventures, owned by his father-in-law, the Indian businessman N. R. Narayana Murthy between 2013 and 2015.
Sunak was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.
As chancellor, he was prominent in the government’s financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, including the coronavirus job retention schemes and Eat Out to Help Out. He resigned as chancellor on July 5, 2022, citing his economic policy differences with Johnson in his resignation letter. Sunak’s resignation, along with Javid’s resignation as health secretary, led to Johnson’s resignation amid of a government crisis that led Liz Truss to the PM seat.
Image over the headline.- Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Photos © UK Government. Composition © Eastwind.
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Rishi Sunak emerges as the favorite candidate to succeed Truss after Johnson’s pull out
