The domain readyforrishi.com was first registered with GoDaddy on 23 December 2021, while ready4rishi.com was registered on 6 July 2022, two days after Sunak resigned as Chancellor. Whether or not his plans to resign were planted in his head back in December, the Chancellor’s exit followed by a leadership bid for the prime ministerial elections in the UK has given us one food for thought - Is Britain ready for its first Indian origin prime minister? We find out.
His #Ready4Rishi campaign kicked off with a message on Twitter, accompanied by a video made up of images of his Indian-origin grandparents and parents who migrated to the UK via East Africa. Much like Boris Johnson - once hailed as India’s ‘jamai’ (son-in-law; he was married to Marina Wheeler who is half-Indian), Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Indian software major Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, one of the most respected tycoons in the country.
However, the first Indian-origin candidate to bid for the position of Britain’s new Prime Minister was Suella Braverman, former Fernandes. The UK Cabinet minister and Attorney General boasts of Goan ancestry. Joining them among the South Asians standing up for this prestigious role was former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who is of Pakistani origin. He was the first cabinet minister to resign, followed by Sunak after a gap of a few minutes. However, on Tuesday evening, Sajid Javid dropped out of the leadership race to become the new leader of the Tory party.
Priti Patel confirmed she will not launch a last-minute Conservative leadership bid, as we went to press. The Home Secretary had been urged to stand as a right-wing unity candidate by more than a dozen MPs but has now confirmed she is not going to enter the fray before nominations closed on Tuesday. "I am grateful for the encouragement and support colleagues and Party members have offered me in recent days in suggesting that I enter the contest for the leadership of the Conservative Party. I will not be putting my name forward for the ballot of MPs," Ms Patel said.
Among non-Asians, the UK’s first female defence secretary Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State is also among the top contenders for keys to No.10.
The second round of voting by 14 July will determine the final two candidates, but the third round of voting is possible on July 18, with the final two names set to be announced on July 21. This will be followed by 160,000 party members making a final choice through the postal ballot.
Asian Voice reached out to British Indians, asking them their opinion of Rishi Sunak, his probable chances of winning the election, will the FTA between UK-India be delivered and whether Britain is finally ready for an Indian/Asian origin Prime Minister.
British Indians have collectively resonated with the idea that Rishi Sunak will face tough competition as a Prime Ministerial candidate, however, the chances of him winning the elections are not entirely dependent on him being of Indian origin, but more on the party’s perspective on social justice and value system. Brexit and NHS continue to be the paramount pain points amid cost of living crisis in the UK.
Ready for Rishi?
Rajnish Kashyap, General Secretary/Director - Hindu Council UK (HCUK) told Asian Voice, “Let’s start by stating that Boris Johnson has promoted and led a Cabinet and Government that is more ethnically diverse than ever in British History. A prime example of this is that those who put their name for the leadership of the Tory Party and to become the next Prime Minister, many are from ethnic minority communities. We must appreciate this regardless of who becomes the leader of the Tory party and then becomes PM.
“No doubt there is a huge support for Mr Sunak from Indian communities. He is well regarded and currently seems to be in lead but in the end, it is up to the party who chooses their leader
“I ought to say UK and Tory should be ready (many Asian were holding powerful posts in the cabinet and they all were accepted) but I have my doubts for an Asian PM because don’t forget racism still exists.
“Brexit has happened so not a priority for the new pm it’s getting the UK economy sorted. For this, it is important for the Tory Party to deliver the Free Trade Agreement. India and The UK both are major economies, so they need to have cordial and positive relationships which they normally have.”
Not pro-India but pro-Britain
Speaking to Asian Voice, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia - The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said, “Sunak has the toughest contest for the leadership role. This is due to the perception that his resignation from the Boris Johnson cabinet, being the most high-profile, set the trend of further resignations that brought down Johnson as the party leader and prime minister. As a result, there will be a focused attempt within sections of the Conservative party to ensure that he does not reap the rewards of his perceived disloyalty. As a result, if Sunak makes it to the last two candidates, he will likely have fewer votes from Conservative Party MPs in the final count.
“Yes, I think the UK and the Tory party are ready for an Asian-origin PM. This is evident from the number of ethnic minority candidates (including Asians) who are contesting the leadership; they would not be doing so if they felt that they would all do badly. This fact is important by itself.”
Will Britain manage to find a pro-India PM? Rahul said, “I think that the reality is that any British PM will not be pro-India but pro-Britain. This includes, especially, any Indian-origin PM. We must get rid of the rhetoric and focus on the reality of the ‘living bridge’, which is that any British-Indian politician or official could be pro-India, when in fact they will always be pro-Britain. The quicker we realise this the better. In this respect, I would argue that a non-British Indian PM like Boris Johnson could be more favourable to India than a British Indian PM.”
He also mentioned that to deal with Brexit-related issues, the new PM will have to engage with India and focus on the ‘Indo-Pacific’ foreign policy tilt.
Brexit, an ‘unmitigated disaster’
Tom Tugendhat who is standing to be the next Prime Minister, has dismissed criticism of his lack of ministerial experience after Dominic Raab said it was “no time to learn on the job”. Tugendhat served during the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. He also served in Afghanistan, in a civilian capacity, for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), and helped set up the National Security Council of Afghanistan and the government in Helmand Province. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee said: “I know the pain families are feeling now. That is why my first pledge is to take fuel duty down by 10p a litre. My second is to reverse the national insurance rise. This isn’t about percentages. It’s about jobs. That’s why I didn’t vote for the increase then, and I wouldn’t now.”
Commenting on the ongoing ordeal to choose UK’s next Prime Minister, Labour MP Virendra Sharma told us, “The Tory Party are looking to elect a new leader, sadly Boris Johnson's vision for the party lives on and will shape the new leader. Same Tories, new face. Brexit continues to be an unmitigated disaster, but any new Tory Party leader will have to ignore that reality and pander to the right-wing. The UK is pro-India, the Government just reflects the public, I believe that the future lies in a better and closer relationship with India. A free trade deal is a long way off, sector deals are achievable now, but the differences make a full FTA impossible in the short term.
“The ethnicity of the new Prime Minister is irrelevant, I hope Tory MPs and party members will elect any new leader on their merits and their policies. We devalue political debate when we silo each other. The Tory Government has increased taxes in the middle of the cost-of-living crisis and tinkered at the edges, doing practically nothing. All of these ministers and MPs stood by Boris Johnson for years, they all own the same legacy as Prime Minister Johnson.”
Interestingly, while he competes in the top 4 contenders in the race to No.10, Sunak said that while Mr Johnson may be flawed "so are the rest of us". He said: "I will have no part in a rewriting of history that seeks to demonise Boris, exaggerate his faults or deny his efforts."
Boris was once UK’s Foreign Secretary. He has made visits in that capacity to several countries around the globe, especially India, and over the years, built a friendly connection with the likes of Indian PM Narendra Modi (whom he fondly calls Modibhai), including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has hosted him in Kolkata, not just for an official visit, but persuaded him to overstay and attend the Bengal Business Summit, which Johnson duly attended. Johnson has made several visits to Ukraine during the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis winning applause for helping a war-torn country.
International leaders have reportedly liked Johnson for his spontaneity despite criticism from the homeland for being a “liar”, “dreamer” and not being able to deliver on his promise of reviving the economy for NHS.
If a ‘Remainer’ takes over, the EU might get away with some better deals. Most of Boris’ supporters hailed from middle England during the 2019 snap election, they are the old-aged Britons who believed Johnson could resurrect the NHS and finally “get Brexit done”. Even from the new Prime Minister, this would remain their expectation.
NHS crisis, the biggest challenge
Asian Voice exclusively spoke to Dr Indranil Chakravorty MBE, Physician, Researcher in innovation, health Inequalities, about the role of outgoing Prime Minister Johnson in tackling racism at the NHS, and the chances of a new PM resolving issues for Britain’s healthcare system.
Sharing background information from the NHS, Chakravorty said, “The background of unprecedented pressures on acute and emergency care, queuing ambulances unable to off-load their critical patients, a constant bed crisis, serious financial constraints leading to curtailment of clinical services and plans to lay off non-clinical staff, growing displeasure with primary care services and a crisis in workforce recruitment/ retention and you can start to see what we can see as doctors in the frontline. If you are one of the 47% of doctors and 1 in 5 of NHS staff or patients who are from minority backgrounds, then you are aware of the institutional racism and bias that is deeply ingrained in society and the health service. Year on year, since 2015, the Workforce Race Equality Standards survey data has demonstrated the persistence of racism and bias experienced by the healthcare workforce and the recent Medical WRES data is no different.”
While Partygate and Johnson’s untimely decision during lockdown cost millions of lives and painful departures and goodbyes for families who lost loved ones to Covid, Chakravorty does give credit where it's due. He said, “The administration under Rt Hon Boris Johnson has indeed acknowledged the existence of health inequalities which became apparent in the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic and supported the aspiration for levelling up. One of the first concrete steps taken to understand the health impact of racism and bias was the formation of the NHS Race & Health Observatory in 2021, which has secured its funding for the next 5 years, receiving the support of Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS E/I. Navina Evans has taken over from Prerna Issar as the NHSE/I’s Chief People’s Officer along with her role as the CEO of Health Education England, the body responsible for education and training for all healthcare staff in England.”
Indranil added, “As a professional of Asian origin, working in the frontline of the NHS the tumultuous world of political hunger games is not only highly interesting but also anxiety-provoking in equal measure. Rishi Sunak may have been born in a family who originated from India, but his education, values and upbringing were as British as they can be. It is interesting that in an early interview during the pandemic period of lockdown, Rishi acknowledged that as a ‘British Asian’ growing up in the UK, he was ‘of course aware of the existence of racism in British society’ and had experienced it himself. However, he was quick to clarify that ‘huge progress’ had been made in society, that racism was no longer as it was when he was growing up and that violence was not the way to solve it.
“It is increasingly acknowledged by academics that mere awareness of racism is insufficient for a society to tackle this, but that leaders and institutions need to be proactively ‘anti-racist’ in order to begin to engineer social change. I very much doubt that Rishi has the experience or the necessary understanding of the huge impact of racism on people’s lives, livelihood and outcomes to tackle this actively.”
Stating his expectations from a new PM, he said, “As a doctor, I would like to see the shift of power to the people through the allocation of resources to people’s cabinets, local government and public health experts. A vast increase in primary care, a multi-professional workforce akin to the bare-foot doctor/ health worker model in low-income countries, who will provide care close to home and an investment in social care for the elderly in care homes run by local governments supported by primary care professionals.”
Does Rishi Sunak stand a chance to be the first Indian-origin PM of the UK? Chakravorty said, “He has demonstrated his understanding of finances and his willingness to take tough decisions to turn the country’s economy around post-Brexit. He has a few weaknesses, his elitist education, his personal and family wealth and his colour are significant disadvantages which will weigh down his chances of success. As a British Asian, I am interested in his chances of getting the votes needed for the top job and do think he is capable of delivering.
“Professionals tend to vote on policies and demonstrated actions/ successes, not on the basis of colour or ethnicity, so it is unlikely that he will secure the ‘brown or black vote’ if there was such a thing in existence. He may appeal to the young professionals who are more likely to be open to diversity but are usually not ones to go to polling stations and do not make up sufficient numbers of Tory members. However, as a doctor working on the frontline, witnessing (often helplessly) the challenges faced by the people and the NHS in delivering the promise of health for all, I don’t think Rishi or any of the other leadership aspirants from his party have the values of social justice, sufficient understanding of the principles of the NHS (or health for all) and the conviction to take the bold measures that are needed to deliver.”
