Rishi Sunak ran a slick and effective campaign to be the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. The numbers show that. Liz Truss defeated him by a margin of just over 20,000 votes, which is not the huge margin that many commentators were expecting. In the last six years, the UK has had four different prime ministers from the same party which has swelled backbenches with a rather long list of leadership hopefuls. Sunak, too, joins the same rank.
Sunak got encouraging support from the Conservative MPs who took him to the final two in the running for UK PM. He had already made it clear that he wouldn't be taking a cabinet post under Liz Truss, not that she was inclined to offer him one in the first place. Truss’ appointment has brought an end to his role as a secretary of state if not till the next election, then at least till squabbles necessitate a cabinet rejig. There are several instances of leadership competitors relinquishing cabinet role, only to be summoned again. If that doesn’t happen, what does the future look like for Sunak?
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Sunak made it clear that he wishes to continue to be an MP. That rules out the possibility of an immediate departure from British politics. Sunak said that he does not take it for granted that he would be selected to stand as MP from the Conservative safe seat of Richmond in Yorkshire. It is highly likely that he would stand again from Richmond, but as Liz Truss has ruled out early election, there’s still some time for him to hit the campaign trail.
As Chancellor Sunak occupied the second most important position after the Prime Minister, there is still more he can do within the Conservative Party. Sunak is, relatively speaking, still in his early years as a politician and in a fast-changing multicultural Britain, he is sure to gain traction and will continue to be in the spotlight. What should be heartening to him is the margin of just over 20,000 votes that clinched the race for Liz Truss. Getting 43 percent votes from the overwhelmingly white, male, middle-class Tory members is no mean achievement.
Having taken a stab at the top job, he still has time on his side to be for the Conservative what Lord Chitnis was for the Liberal party through the 1960s and 1980s. Of course, in-between he would continue to aspire for Downing Street, but Britons are now increasingly staring at the difficult option of choosing between heating and eating (the coming winter poses a challenge to households facing huge energy bills), which means Labour under Keir Starmer have a good chance of replacing the Conservatives.
It is also not unusual for British politicians to go back to the world of consultancy and high-paying jobs. That’s an option for Sunak, too, but it doesn’t seem like he is inclined for that, at least not at the moment. Although the Sunaks have a base in the US, moving across the pond is also ruled out, as that would mean uprooting their kids’ education. Besides, the couple have now regularly eulogised British values. Sunak’s parents are based in the UK, and his mother Usha appeared at some hustings as well. Akshata Murthy has also announced that she would be paying full taxes on foreign income and will no longer take benefit of the non-domicile status.
Considering his financial background and stints as chief secretary to the Treasury and Chancellor, he could become an important figure to steer the Tory party in Parliamentary debates on the economy. A couple of more innings in Westminster could mean he could also earn a membership to one of the important Parliamentary committees. Former Labour MP Keith Vaz was one of the longest serving chairpersons of the Home Affairs Select Committee, a position that commanded huge influence.
The hurly-burly of frontline politics and the leadership campaign took him away from his family. Speaking to the BBC earlier, he called himself as an “appalling father and husband” and spoke of the need to spend more time with them. Though the summer break is over here in the UK, perhaps he would plan a (overdue) trip to India in the coming weeks. Akshata’s parents Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and author mother Sudha Murthy are based in Bangalore, and Sunak has previously spoken about how he likes to interact with new businesses and start-ups.
In some ways Sunak did to Boris Johnson what Johnson did to Theresa May – their resignations exposed 10 Downing Street to inevitable political storms. Sunak has also been compared to the Tory grandee Lord Heseltine who unsuccessfully challenged Margaret Thatcher’s leadership while serving in her cabinet. Heseltine famously said, “He who wields the knife never wears the crown”. It remains to be seen whether Sunak can change Heseltine’s cliché to one who wields the knife can also wear the crown. He has time on his side.
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