Who Is? Rishi Sunak

By Ellis Asher

The following is a part of the Who Is? series covering the Conservative Party elections, click here for the other candidate, Liz Truss.

[Rishi Sunak's Official Picture: UK Government]

History

The MP for Richmond, Mr Sunak was amongst the first to resign, alongside his colleague, Former Health Secretary Savid Javid.

Sunak’s resignation was not only among the earliest but also the most damning for Johnson, as the ‘special relationship’ between the chancellor and the prime minister, as the two most powerful individuals in the cabinet, became tarnished so did the PM’s relationship with their own party.

But his reputation was also called into question following his involvement in the 'Partygate' scandal which went on to haunt Boris Johnson for the rest of his time as PM, with Sunak receiving a fine for breaching the Covid rules his fellow ministers put in place.

Upon resigning the former chancellor cited “fundamental differences” in financial policy. This, along with claims made in 2021 that Mr Sunak is a “low-tax conservative” leads some to think that a potential Sunak government would opt for tax cuts, a much more fiscally conservative policy than we saw under Johnson's leadership.

There are also concerns, as Sunak was chancellor under Johnson, and implemented the tax rises that we saw in the 2022 spring statement, some have called into question the legitimacy of Sunak’s “low tax tory” credibility.

Ready For Rishi?

Rishi Sunak's "Ready For Rishi?" campaign seemed like a middle ground between the policy of the prior Johnson government, and the direction the party is seemingly pushing.

On tax, Mr Sunak has continued to defend his Corporation Tax rise and has come into conflict with many other candidates by opposing immediate tax cuts, claiming that they can wait until the economy improves.

Sunak also promised he would reform GDPR, European data consent laws, into a British equivalent.

On the environment, Mr Sunak has promised to create a new department for energy, with an "energy security committee". He has also committed to a 2050 net-zero target and would set a target to reach energy self-sufficiency by 2045, he told The Telegraph.

Another of Sunak's big policies includes scrapping the TV License fee in the future,

On law and order, Sunak would advocate for new laws targeting people who facilitate grooming gangs.

A recent poll by ConsertaiveHome put Sunak at a 17 per cent disadvantage against Truss.

You can find his campaign here.