The latest political crisis in the United Kingdom (UK) coincides with the resignation of Liz Truss after 45 days, former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will again replace Truss as the next British Prime Minister. The 42-year-old will become Britain’s first Indian-origin prime minister.
Sunak was praised for a COVID-19 economic rescue package, which included a costly job retention program that prevented massive unemployment in the country. However, Sunak was also criticized for not providing adequate cost-of-living support to the households. His position was damaged by the revelations of Johnson as well as his wealthy wife’s non-domicile tax status and the fines they received for violating COVID lockdown rules.
Who is Rishi Sunak? What is his Indian connection?
Rishi Sunak, born to an Indian family in the Southampton area of the UK, is the son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) father. His grandparents are from Punjab. According to reports, Sunak’s family moved to East Africa in search of a better life, but when trouble started in the region amid widespread sentiment against Indians, his grandfather moved to Britain. Sunak is a graduate of Oxford University and Stanford. He is married to Akshata Murthy, daughter of Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys. The couple, who tied the knot in 2009, have two daughters, Anushka and Krishna.
Rishi Sunak’s early innings in British politics
Sunak first became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 2015 after being elected from Richmond, Yorkshire. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Conservative Party and supported the call for ‘Brexit’. Sunak was among Johnson’s supporters during his ‘Leave the EU’ campaign. He made history in February 2020 when he was named as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Britain’s most important cabinet post.
Sunak became popular for his economic package to support employees and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a job retention programme, which reportedly averted massive unemployment in the UK.
But, Sunak rose to fame after the ‘PartyGate’ scam, violating COVID-19 norms and organizing lockdown parties in government offices. This eventually led to a crisis in the Johnson government.
Sunak also faced severe criticism for the non-prime tax status of his wealthy wife. The tax status allows a person who was born in another country, or if their parents are from another country, to pay tax in the UK only on income earned in that country. It was learned that Akshata, who is still an Indian citizen, had non-resident status in the UK. This allowed him to avoid paying tax on his overs.
The latest political crisis in the United Kingdom (UK) coincides with the resignation of Liz Truss after 45 days, former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will again replace Truss as the next British Prime Minister. The 42-year-old will become Britain’s first Indian-origin prime minister.
Sunak was praised for a COVID-19 economic rescue package, which included a costly job retention program that prevented massive unemployment in the country. However, Sunak was also criticized for not providing adequate cost-of-living support to the households. His position was damaged by the revelations of Johnson as well as his wealthy wife’s non-domicile tax status and the fines they received for violating COVID lockdown rules.