At his last husting at the Wembley Arena in London on Wednesday 31 August, during the leadership race of the Conservative party, Rishi Sunak’s parents, general practitioner father Yashvir and pharmacist mother Usha sat in the front row along with his wife Akshata Murthy.
He thanked them and said, “It was their example of service and what they did for people that inspired me to enter politics. Mum, dad thank you for always sacrificing and striving to provide a better life for your kids than you had. And thank you for teaching me that with hard work and belief and the love of your family there is no limit to what someone can achieve in our great country.” Sunak also thanked his wife whom he met at Stanford University in the US, saying, “You know what you mean to me, and I am incredibly grateful that 18 years ago you chose to give up your high heels and take a chance on the short kid with a backpack…The greatest sacrifice I have made is that I have been an appalling husband and father for the past couple of years, it’s as simple as that.”
On Monday, 5th September, as Sunak walked alongside Truss into the auditorium - already knowing the outcome of the leadership race, he exhibited tremendous grace and dignity. It cannot be forgotten that it was William Hague, British Conservative Party politician and former leader of the conservative party who is one of the strongest supporters of Rishi Sunak from his constituency and other gradice of the Conservative Party are prevailing on Rishi Sunak to be involved in the unification of the party which was badly divided in the last 7 weeks of the campaign.
Sunak later on Monday, posted a photo of him and Truss together and wrote, “Thank you to everyone who voted for me in this campaign. I’ve said throughout that the Conservatives are one family. It’s right we now unite behind the new PM, Liz Truss, as she steers the country through difficult times.”
Sunak has been heavily critiqued and written off by the British media, for instance - a headline by The Independent read, ‘The Rishi Sunak guide to failing: What can we learn from one man’s very public flop?’ A recruitment firm took a dig at Sunak and pasted his photo on a van that read, ‘Didn’t get the job? We’ve got jobs for everyone!’
One must not forget that Sunak was the first to quit Johnson’s government, followed by Sajid Javid, and speak out against the toxic culture within the cabinet. He never digressed from his stance on tackling inflation versus cutting down taxes, not to forget that when the nation was amid a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, Rishi Sunak’s furlough scheme became a lifeline for Britons.
In his recent interview with Asian Voice, almost a week before the final verdict, Sunak had told us that ‘Britain is ready’. The 42-year-old young man may have not won the leadership race, but the community and its youth may not lose hope after all - while he wishes to continue serving as an MP from Richmond, that one day, if he doesn’t quit politics, Britain will indeed be, ‘Ready for Rishi’.
