Akshata Murty and Tory wives hit election campaign trail

THE wives of Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt and James Cleverly hit the election campaign trail in Suffolk last Wednesday (19) in a bid to bolster the Conservative party’s sagging fortunes.

The prime minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, was joined by Lucia Hunt and Susie Cleverly, for a day of canvassing in Fordham, according to media reports.

The culture secretary and local Tory candidate, Lucy Frazer, also joined them for a door-todoor campaign. They spoke to residents and handed out Tory party leaflets.

The group was dressed casually and was spotted taking selfies with residents and Conservative volunteers, reports said.

While Akshata has been active during the Tory election campaign and was present when her husband launched the party manifesto on June 11, Lucia and Susie are rarely seen during official engagements.

Akshata is the daughter of NR Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Indian software giant Infosys. She has made careful appearances for her husband’s party.

In an unusual move for the wife of a leader, last year she introduced her husband on stage at the Conservative party conference in a surprise speech about her “best friend”.

“He is fun, he is thoughtful, he is compassionate and has an incredible zest for life,” Akshata said in the personal address that seemed to go down well with the party members.

In sharp contrast, Victoria Starmer, the wife of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, has so far stayed away from publicly campaigning for the party.

Starmer told LBC that Victoria was focusing on her job in the NHS and helping their son study for his GCSE exams.

He said his son had completed his last exam last Friday (21).