Rishi Sunak has made history by becoming Britain’s first Indian-origin prime minister. AFP
‘Try, try until you succeed’ is the famous adage and it appears to hold true for Britain’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Weeks after failing to garner the support in the Conservative party, he has acquired the top post in British politics after the dramatic and shortest stint in power by Liz Truss.
This is a complete turnaround for Rishi Sunak with his Indian ancestry and links through his in-laws — Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy ?– who in recent times has been embroiled in controversies.
Let’s take a closer look at the scandals that have marred Sunak’s reputation from ‘Dishy Rishi’ to ‘Fishy Rishi’ and how they may affect him as he becomes Britain’s youngest prime minister in more than 200 years.
Non-domicile status and green card
One of the most vociferous criticisms of Rishi Sunak has been of his elite background and his wealth. Earlier this year, Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List of the UK’s 250 wealthiest people – the newspaper estimated their joint net worth at ?730 million ($826 million).
As it emerged that he was the richest MP in Britain’s Parliament, also came the news that Akshata held non-domicile status, meaning she did not have to pay UK tax on her sizeable international income.
The news created outrage in the country, following which her spokesperson said she had opted for the status because she’s an Indian citizen and “India does not allow its citizens to hold the citizenship of another country simultaneously”. Rishi had backed his wife on the matter in an interview with The Sun, during which he argued she had the status so she could one day return to India to care for her parents.
However, their defences held no ground and on 8 April Akshata said she would pay UK taxes on all her global income. She said did not want her tax status to be a “distraction” for her husband, and added that she understood “the British sense of fairness”.
Amid this scandal, it also emerged that Sunak had a green card until October 2021 — more than six years after he became an MP and over 18-months after he became Chancellor.
Reacting to the news, Liberal Democrat’s Sir Ed Davey told BBC, “Never mind a green card; it’s time to give Rishi Sunak the red card.”
While the move did not seem to give him any tax advantages, it did suggest that he was keeping his options open as to moving back to the US if his political career did not work out.
Also read: Britain’s Obama moment: Can Rishi Sunak deliver what he has promised?
Investment in Russia?
As Russia invaded Ukraine, Rishi Sunak had urged British firms to stop investing in the country while praising companies like Shell and BP for pulling out.
“I am urging firms to think very carefully about their investments in Russia and how they may aid the Putin regime — and I am also clear that there is no case for new investment in Russia. We must collectively go further in our mission to inflict maximum economic pain — and to stop further bloodshed,” he had said in March earlier this year.
However, it appeared that his wife didn’t follow the same advice; her father’s company, Infosys, refused to exit Russia after the attack on Ukraine and she continued to earn dividends from the company’s profits.
A spokesperson for Sunak had argued that neither Murthy nor any family members “have any involvement in the operational decisions of the company.” However, it went against the spirit of Sunak’s preaching of pulling out of Russia.
No ‘working class friends’
Sunak has also been criticised of not connecting with the masses and being cut off from reality. He was in a spot of bother when an interview surfaced in which he suggested that he had “no working-class friends”.
The then 21-year-old told the BBC, as part of a series called Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl that he has “friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper-class, I have friends who are, you know, working-class’.”
He then corrected himself to say, “Well, not working-class” and whatever he meant, it didn’t look great.
Today, Sunak claims to be a man of the people, but as this clip shows, he’s not the man of all people.
The bread row
Earlier this year, Sunak put his foot in it when asked by BBC Breakfast about what inflation in supermarkets he had personally noticed as the cost of living crisis started to bite.
He responded saying that was concerned with the rising prices of bread. When the presenter asked him what kind of bread did he prefer, Sunak said, “It’s a Hovis kind of seeded thing. We have a whole range of different — we all have different breads in my house, a degree of healthiness between my wife, myself and my kids.”
The comments didn’t sit well with the British public, who were struggling with the effects of rising supermarket costs.
One Twitter user by the name Sam said: “The ‘performance’ by @RishiSunak on #BBCBreakfast was a stark reminder that he does not give a t**s for the poorest in society.
Another added, “A pointless interview with the Chancellor really. He’s got all his sound bites ready and he’s delivering them like a billionaire.”
All eyes are now on him to see if he can succeed even as he faces insurmountable challenges such as fixing the economy to reinstalling faith in the Tories.
With inputs from agencies
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