A former finance minister will become British prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party Rishi Sunak. He is the only candidate who got the required number of MPs from his party behind him.
The future prime minister has a very difficult task. He should stabilize the British economy, prevent Britons from freezing in their homes next winter and save the Conservative Party from a crushing defeat in the next general election.
These five things tell what kind of prime minister Britain will get.
1. The former finance minister is trying to save the economy
Rishi Sunak was Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer during two difficult pandemic years until last summer. Now he should save the economy from inflation and the previous prime minister By Liz Truss from bumps.
Investors were scared by the extensive tax reductions promised by Truss, for which there was no credible plan to finance. The value of the pound plummeted, interest rates rose and pension companies were threatened with bankruptcy.
– Sunak’s most important task is to calm the market and convey the message that his public finance plan is on a sustainable basis, says the academy researcher Timo Miettinen from the University of Helsinki.
According to Miettinen, Sunak’s financial thinking is not known very precisely. Basically, like Truss, he is conservative, meaning he supports reducing regulation and lowering taxes.
However, as a former finance minister, Sunak seems to understand that now is not the time for tax cuts.
2. The first Prime Minister of Indian origin
Rishi Sunak is set to become Britain’s first non-white Prime Minister.
Sunak’s Indian parents immigrated to Britain from East Africa. He himself was born in 1980 in Southampton, UK.
Sunak himself has said that the immigrant background is important to him.
– I was in the temple on weekends because I am a Hindu. But I was too [Southamptonin jalkapallokerho] At the Saints game on Saturdays. You can do both, Sunak said for the BBC (you switch to another service) in 2019.
Despite his background, Sunak has supported Britain’s exit from the EU, among other things, because it would allow Britain to control immigration more tightly.
According to Timo Miettinen, ethnic and religious background have contributed to Sunak’s popularity in the conservative party. He came second in September when the members got to vote for the chairman.
– The party relies on a certain perception of what Britain’s cultural and religious profile is like. This question cannot be completely ignored when looking at Sunak’s popularity, says Miettinen.
Some supporters may also be driven away by elitism. Sunak studied at Oxford and Stanford universities and worked at Goldman Sachs bank and investment funds before his political career.
3. The biggest scandal is related to the millionaire’s wife’s taxes
In the spring it turned out that Sunak’s wife Akshata Murthy paid almost no income taxes to Britain, because according to his own declaration he did not live in the country. Spouse served as finance minister at the same time.
It was a matter of large sums, because Sunak and Murty’s family is among the richest in Britain, with a fortune of at least 700 million pounds, or about 800 million euros.
Akshata Murty’s father is an Indian billionaire and the founder of the IT giant Infosys NR Narayana Murthy.
As a result of the scandal, Akshata Murty said that she had transferred her tax records to Britain.
Sunak has also been fined for breaking the corona rules, because he was the prime minister at the time Boris Johnson as usual participated in gatherings at the prime minister’s official residence.
4. Support for Ukraine and Finland’s NATO membership remains
Britain has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in the war against Russia. Similarly, Britain has strongly supported the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden.
The line is expected to remain even during Sunak’s prime ministership, as it is supported by all major parties.
– In Britain, these questions are those on which there is a broad parliamentary consensus, academy researcher Timo Miettinen says.
5. The task is to save the conservative party
Sunak gets to lead the conservative party, which is very unpopular.
If the election were held now, the Conservative Party would collapse into a minor party. Electoral Calculus website (you are moving to another service) calculates based on opinion polls that the conservatives would get only 48 representatives in the 650-member parliament.
– The Conservative Party has a messianic atmosphere. A savior for the party is expected there, says Timo Miettinen.
Sunak’s task is complicated by the fact that, in addition to the economic crisis, Britain is threatened by an energy crisis. Heat and electricity prices threaten to rise, and the British expect support from the state.
Only the coming months and years will show how Sunak succeeds in this difficult task. New elections must be held no later than January 2025.