Sunak hailed for integrity in office amid Tory chaos

Sunak’s tenure is marked by graciousness and maturity, contrasting with divisive politics, say observers

• Sarwar Alam
• 11 July, 2024

By: Sarwar Alam

RISHI SUNAK should be remembered for bringing back “moral decency” to the position of prime minister despite the Conservative party’s heavy defeat at last week’s general election, a longserving Asian parliamentarian has said.

Sunak left Downing Street last Thursday (4), 20 months after he was sworn in amid political turmoil in the party after the departures of former prime ministers Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

“He (Sunak) had a lot of baggage to carry from his predecessors and therefore he was really trying to make the best of a pretty difficult situation. [He had] a very unruly and divided party, it almost felt like he was a hostage in Downing Street,” said the parliamentarian.

“You can see it in the period that he was in office, he obviously was very hardworking, decent man, trying to do the right thing, particularly to stabilise the economy and address some of the weaknesses in the Brexit deal,” they added.

Johnson was booted out by the Conservatives after the ‘partygate’ scandal of lockdown law-breaking parties in Downing Street. He was succeeded by Truss, voted in by the Tory membership, who proved to be a disastrous choice with her catastrophic mini-budget.

In the aftermath of those departures, the Tories turned to Sunak. Johnson chose not to seek re-election and Truss suffered a humiliating defeat last week. In contrast, Sunak kept his Richmond, north Yorkshirel, seat with a majority in a sign that the electorate blamed his predecessors more than the most recent Tory leader.

“That period of Liz Truss was the closest to a crisis this country has got to in recent times, and he definitely did a very good job of stabilising the ship and addressing some of the fundamental things that needed to be done,” said the parliamentarian.

During his time at Downing Street, Sunak had to deal with factions in his party and vocal critics such as former home secretary Suella Braverman who publicly attacked his policies.

“From day one, there were various factions who clearly had it in for Rishi. There were various people with their own agendas that didn’t make life easy for him,” said the parliamentarian.

“I just wish he had more courage around managing his own party when he immediately took office and said, ‘this is the way it’s going to be and you’re either with the programme or you’re not’ – really put his foot down even more.

“That’s one lesson I hope his successors will learn – that if you are always solving the issues within your party, you’re not putting the country first.”

The parliamentarian reflected on Sunak’s final speech as prime minister when he said of the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, that “his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well. Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent public-spirited man who I respect”.

“He restored an element of moral decency to the office of prime minister, which is what everybody expects,” the parliamentarian said. “The very gracious way in which he conceded showed a level of maturity that I think was lacking in politicians – people became sick and tired of ‘yah-boo politics’,” they added.

Sunder Katwala, director of the thinktank British Future, said in the long term, people will remember the political turmoil Sunak inherited.

“I think history will be relatively kind to Rishi Sunak. Despite the scale of this defeat, I think the analysis will be that he was dealt with an almost impossible hand 12 years in,” he said.

“Sunak, I think, will be seen as a man who tried hard to steady the ship in very difficult economic, geopolitical conditions. And what he didn’t really have was a political recipe that might have required a magic wand, but he did put the country back on an even keel after a very chaotic period of government, losing two prime ministers within weeks,” Katwala added.

Sunak’s popularity rose during the pandemic when, as chancellor, he played a key part in navigating the country through an unprecedented period of difficulty.

Jaffer Kapasi, a businessman and community leader in Leicester who is also the honorary consul general of Uganda, said Sunak should be remembered for being a successful chancellor.

“As chancellor he introduced the job retention scheme that helped employment and also allowed a lot of businesses to survive,” Kapasi told Eastern Eye.

“When Liz Truss ruined the economy, Sunak had to take charge and rectify it, which he did because inflation came down. Obviously, there was debate about more taxation, but from a business and economic point of view, he came from a business background, he did a good job.”

Kapasi also credited Sunak for speaking out after being racially abused by Reform party activist Andrew Parker who called him a “f****** P***”.

“I really respect him for taking a stand against it,” he said Kapasi.

“The country needs to see that we if someone (Sunak) at the top of the hierarchy can get abused like that, imagine what ordinary people go through. I face this P*** thing regularly.”

The sense of pride in a British Indian having made it to the highest office was visible till the end, with elderly Asians showering their blessings and handing prayer beads to Sunak during his campaign visit to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north London.

“His legacy will be as the first British Indian prime minister of the United Kingdom. I think that’s a hugely symbolic moment,” said Kevin McCole, managing director of the UK Indian Business Council.

“Being part of a Diwali celebration hosted by him at Downing Street was a remarkably touching moment. So, I think that would be Sunak’s legacy, rather than this election. He’s been a great ambassador for the British Indian community, and it really shows Britain at its multicultural best, that Sunak could achieve so much in this country.”

Lord Karan Bilimoria told Eastern Eye that he wished Sunak had rethought some of his policies on immigration such as the Rwanda policy, describing it as “impractical and inhumane” and that as the first British-Indian prime minister, he should have led a delegation to India.

However, he said, Sunak, who he has known for more than a decade, has a bright future ahead of him – although it might not be in politics.

“I count Rishi as a friend. I have the highest respect for him as a thoroughly decent person and well-intentioned person,” Bilimoria said.

“He’s only 44 years old. He’s been prime minister of a G7 country. He’ll be absolutely fine. He’s got a whole career ahead of him. He can do anything. He’s got his business background. He’s got a very bright future ahead of him.

“However, I don’t see it in politics. He may stay on as MP for a while, but I don’t see him staying on in terms of trying to get back in (highest level of politics).”