LONDON (AP) — Rishi Sunak’s campaign to remain Britain’s chancellor has shown a lack of political acumen.
The Conservative Party’s problems were acute ahead of Friday’s election. Defeat in the election But missteps by Britain’s richest prime minister contributed to that defeat.
Pioneers etc. Tony Blair and Boris Johnson It would have allowed him to be more politically agile and connect with voters. Sunak did not have to call an election until January 2025. By calling an election in May, he ignored political advice as the Conservative party’s support has steadily declined amid an economic downturn, ethics scandals and a change of leadership over the past two years. 4th of July Date Announced In the pouring rain.
Moreover, the Conservative Party appears less prepared for the election than the Labour Party, and voters British economy improving still.
“I have heard your anger and disappointment and I take responsibility for this defeat,” Mr Sunak said in his final speech as prime minister outside his official residence at 10 Downing Street.
Perhaps Sunak’s biggest blunder was in issuing an apology, which many analysts see as the final death knell for the Conservative campaign. Leaves Normandy landings ceremony early to mark 80 years since June 6th, northern France.
Critics said the decision to skip the international event that concludes the commemorations was disrespectful to veterans and diminished Britain’s international standing. Other world leaders in attendance included US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Britain’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
More than 50 countries will hold elections in 2024
Born in 1980 in Southampton on England’s south coast to Indian parents, Sunak became Britain’s first leader of colour and the first Hindu to become prime minister, and at 42 is the youngest British leader in more than 200 years.
Mr. Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs hedge fund manager who married into an Indian billionaire’s family, rose quickly through the ranks of the Conservative party. Now 44, he became chancellor on the eve of the coronavirus pandemic. Within weeks he had to announce the biggest economic rescue package a Chancellor has ever taken outside wartime, one that many saw as saving millions of jobs.
Sunak is a longtime advocate of low taxes, albeit with a high-spending, low-tax agenda, and a vocal admirer of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Nicknamed “Dissy Rishi,” Sunak is confident and at ease with modern technological advances and has quickly become one of the most trusted and popular faces in Johnson’s government amid the rigors of the pandemic.
Johnson was forced to resign. He was sacked after it was determined he lied to Parliament about breaching the coronavirus lockdown in his Downing Street office in the summer of 2022. As if that wasn’t enough, his successor, Liz Truss, backed unfunded tax cuts, further eroding trust in the Conservative party. Financial Market Turmoil And borrowing costs have soared, especially for homeowners struggling with the deepest cost-of-living crisis in decades. Her tenure as chancellor was the shortest in British history.
When Mr Sunak took over as prime minister, he presented himself as a stable and strong man, repeatedly reminding voters that when he challenged Ms Truss to succeed Mr Johnson, he had warned Conservative members about the recklessness of her economic plans. On the day Ms Truss took over as prime minister in October 2022 after 49 days in office, the Conservatives were trailing Labour by about 30 percentage points.
As chancellor, Mr Sunak was praised for delivering a jobs-saving scheme to combat coronavirus that saved millions of jobs, but at a heavy cost, pushing the country’s tax burden to its highest level since the 1940s.
During his 21 months as prime minister, Mr. Sunak has struggled to tame fierce divisions within his party, with one side urging him to be tougher on immigration and bolder in cutting taxes, while the other urged him to move closer to the political centre where British elections have historically been won and lost.
In his concession speech, Sunak said he would serve in Parliament until 2029 and remain leader until the Conservative party elected his successor.
“It is important that the Conservative Party rebuilds after 14 years in power, but it is also important that it fulfils its vital role as opposition party professionally and effectively,” he said.
Many believe he may want to return to the United States in the next few years, perhaps to pursue his interests in artificial technology.
After studying at Winchester College, one of the UK’s most expensive boarding schools, Sunak went on to Oxford University to study politics, philosophy and economics – the degree of choice for a future prime minister – before gaining an MBA from Stanford, which paved the way for him to a career as a hedge fund manager at Goldman Sachs in the US.
There he met his wife, Akshata Murthy, the daughter of the billionaire founder of Indian IT giant Infosys. The couple have two daughters. The couple are the richest residents of 10 Downing Street, with an estimated fortune of £651 million ($815 million), according to The Sunday Times Rich List for 2024. Their wealth is even greater than that of King Charles III, and many say their wealth has made him indifferent to most people’s day-to-day problems.
With a stable fortune, Mr Sunak was elected MP for Richmond, Yorkshire, a safe Conservative constituency, in 2015. In the 2016 referendum, Mr Sunak supported Britain leaving the EU, a “leave” that was unexpected and is now regretted by many Britons.
