After Barack Obama created history, will Rishi Sunak repeat similar feat in UK?
INDIA as a nation is excited as former UK chancellor (an equivalent of Finance Minister in Malaysia) Rishi Sunak stands a 50-50 chance to be named to be named Boris Johnson’s successor as the UK Prime Minister.
If Sunak can topple his nearest contender Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to become Britain’s most powerful politician, then the former dominant colonial power in the Indian sub-continent in the 18th century will have its first Indian-origin PM (very much the way Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected US president in 2009).
Both Sunak and Truss are the final two candidates in the race to replace Johnson as the leader of the Conservative Party and consequently become UK’s next PM.
Boris Johnson
On July 20 – after leading every ballot – Sunak retained his popularity among Tory MPs by topping the fifth and final round of the leadership contest with 137 votes, with Truss coming second with 113 votes.
According to BBC, winner of the Conservative leadership contest between Sunak and Truss will be announced at 12:30 BST (7.30pm Malaysian time) before they take up office tomorrow (Sept 6).
“The new PM inherits a flagging economy, with inflation at a 40-year high,” the British public service broadcaster pointed out.
“BBC News has been told that a menu of options has been worked up in Whitehall to help struggling households, including a freeze on energy bills.”
According to The Indian Express, the 42-year-old Tory MP was born in Southampton to Indian-origin parents. His father was a general practitioner for the National Health Service (NHS) while his mother ran a local pharmacy.
His grandparents were born in Punjab and had migrated to East Africa, before moving to Britain in the 1960s where they reportedly worked administrative jobs.
He studied at the elite private school Winchester College, after which he went to Oxford University and Stanford University where he received his MBA and won the prestigious Fullbright scholarship.
His impressive resume includes working as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and various hedge funds. In 2009 Sunak married Akshata Murty, the heir of Narayan Murthy, the billionaire owner of Infosys.
While Sunak was able to rapidly surge through the Conservative party in only a few years, he has faced scathing criticism from the opposition and the public during his role as chancellor.
He was reportedly criticised for not giving enough financial support to households during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Reuters reported that his tax-and-spend budget in 2021 where the UK Government would impose high taxes on the public – to later spend for the public – had placed Britain on course for its largest tax burden in around 70 years, weakening his claims of supporting lower taxes.
Although Sunak had the most support among Tory MPs, BBC said he has trailed Truss in opinion polls of the party grassroots.
Johnson is expected to deliver a farewell speech upon leaving office tomorrow (Sept 5) before the handover of power takes place.
In a break with tradition, BBC said the next Tory leader will travel to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be appointed by the Queen rather than at Buckingham Palace.
The Queen has been suffering from mobility issues and it is understood the change announced last week was made to prevent the need for any last-minute rearrangements. – Sept 5, 2022
On July 20 – after leading every ballot – Sunak retained his popularity among Tory MPs by topping the fifth and final round of the leadership contest with 137 votes, with Truss coming second with 113 votes.
According to BBC, winner of the Conservative leadership contest between Sunak and Truss will be announced at 12:30 BST (7.30pm Malaysian time) before they take up office tomorrow (Sept 6).
“The new PM inherits a flagging economy, with inflation at a 40-year high,” the British public service broadcaster pointed out.
“BBC News has been told that a menu of options has been worked up in Whitehall to help struggling households, including a freeze on energy bills.”
According to The Indian Express, the 42-year-old Tory MP was born in Southampton to Indian-origin parents. His father was a general practitioner for the National Health Service (NHS) while his mother ran a local pharmacy.
His grandparents were born in Punjab and had migrated to East Africa, before moving to Britain in the 1960s where they reportedly worked administrative jobs.
He studied at the elite private school Winchester College, after which he went to Oxford University and Stanford University where he received his MBA and won the prestigious Fullbright scholarship.
His impressive resume includes working as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and various hedge funds. In 2009 Sunak married Akshata Murty, the heir of Narayan Murthy, the billionaire owner of Infosys.
While Sunak was able to rapidly surge through the Conservative party in only a few years, he has faced scathing criticism from the opposition and the public during his role as chancellor.
He was reportedly criticised for not giving enough financial support to households during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Reuters reported that his tax-and-spend budget in 2021 where the UK Government would impose high taxes on the public – to later spend for the public – had placed Britain on course for its largest tax burden in around 70 years, weakening his claims of supporting lower taxes.
Although Sunak had the most support among Tory MPs, BBC said he has trailed Truss in opinion polls of the party grassroots.
Johnson is expected to deliver a farewell speech upon leaving office tomorrow (Sept 5) before the handover of power takes place.
In a break with tradition, BBC said the next Tory leader will travel to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be appointed by the Queen rather than at Buckingham Palace.
The Queen has been suffering from mobility issues and it is understood the change announced last week was made to prevent the need for any last-minute rearrangements. – Sept 5, 2022
Rishi Sunak comes across as stiff, artificial...his weak points as a candidate have little to do with his ethnicity, but probably a lot to do with his class and social background.
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