While campaigning for the leadership race, Rishi Sunak was the most prominent face for the PM. And many also predicted him as the next PM of the UK. But suddenly what went wrong that led to the defeat of the most prominent face? There are still many hard facts that are not disclosed by the political arena of the UK:
- After getting immense support, how did Rishi lose when it came to the actual voting?
- Why did the Conservative Party members decide to vote against Rishi Sunak despite the fact that many of them were in favour of him initially?
- Being a British ordinary girl, was Liz Truss a comfortable choice for the Conservative Party?
- The last and most important question was whether Britain was not ready at that time for an Ethnic Minority PM.
There were so many questions that were left unanswered in British Politics. Even after the damaged documents were leaked against Liz Truss at the time of campaigning still things went in her favour. It somehow explains that one way or the other the race and the origination of Rishi Sunak tipped the scale against him.
Also Read: Who Is Liz Truss? Shortest Serving PM Of The UK
THE TURMOIL IN BRITISH POLITICS
The politics of the UK has seen one of the most exciting twists ever. 44 days after being appointed as the UK’s Prime Minister, Liz Truss resigned from her position. She has become the shortest-serving PM ever in British history. It is a matter of great disgrace that a PM has to resign shortly after being appointed. Liz was appointed PM by Queen Elizabeth II before she died on Sept 8 at the age of 96.
What happened after the resignation marks a new chapter in the history of Britain. After Liz Truss stepped down as the PM of the country, Rishi Sunak, an Indian-origin man has become the Prime Minister of the UK.
The first non-white Prime Minister, this time Rishi was supported by more than half of the Tory MPs. He became the first British citizen of Asian origin to achieve this status. After being appointed as the Prime Minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak delivered a speech addressing the nation from 10 Downing Street.
Also Read: Who Is Rishi Sunak? The First Indian Origin PM Of The UK
After facing defeat in September, Rishi finally won the PM contest. Many high-profile MPs of the Conservative party switched their allegiance from Johnson to Sunak in the race for PM. The former British Home Secretary, Priti Patel who was earlier backing Boris Johnson to return as the Prime Minister of the UK, also came out in support of Rishi Sunak and said, “We care about our country and with the enormous challenges upon us, we must put political differences aside to give Rishi Sunak the best chance of succeeding.”
In these difficult times for our country we must unite by putting public service first and work together. We care about our country and with the enormous challenges upon us we must put political differences aside to give @RishiSunak the best chance of succeeding.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) October 24, 2022
Kemi Badenoch, Secrartey of State for International Trade believes that the party needs a unifying figure to pave the right path for the UK. She also mentioned in her tweet that even though she is a fan of Boris Johnson, she also thinks that a leader like Rishi Sunak has the ability to bring people together.
The party needs a unifying figure to do what’s right for the UK. At this moment, I believe that person is Rishi. I’m a fan of Boris but his return, given all that’s happened would not bring people together. We all need to set aside our differences and work for the greater good. https://t.co/xVZdoXU0rw pic.twitter.com/ILxXJoyF0s
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) October 22, 2022
RISHI SUNAK: A THREAT TO BRITISH POLITICS?
It is happening for the first time in British history that the political narrative of the UK is shifting from the epicentre of Europe and going beyond that. There is no denying the fact that Rishi Sunak is sparking the world’s interest in the UK’s politics. But yes, being an immigrant and a person of colour surely did not work in favour of Rishi earlier.
Many speculations stated why Rishi Sunak was not fit for the candidature of PM. Many Tories who were in support of Liz Truss portrayed Rishi Sunak as “disloyal to Johnson”. At the last stage of the PM campaigning, many party members started blaming Sunak for the reason behind Johnson’s resignation and started having second thoughts about his leadership.
In addition to this, the members of the Conservative Party also suspected him to be too dogmatic and differential to the Bank of England. His excess wealth also raised many eyebrows and became the hurdle in the path of Sunak becoming the Prime Minister of the UK at that time.
A statement was released by one of the Conservative Party members that “He’s too clever by half”. This statement pretty much sums up Rishi’s image among the Party members which might have led to his defeat earlier. It was also because Traditionalist Conservative Party members were less likely to be ready to accept a non-white person as their Prime Minister.
Liz Truss was considered the perfect candidate for the PM with all the right strategies and tax policies. But she could not deliver what she was supposed to and stepped down from the post of PM of the country on October 20, 2022. The question that arises post her resignation is whether the earlier appointment of Liz Truss was fair or if she was just an agreeable and comfortable option for the British Monarchs to run the country.
Now, since Rishi Sunak has become the Prime Minister of the UK defying all the odds, all eyes are on him and how he is going to handle the tanking economy of the United Kindom in this stressful global recession.
