Rishi Sunak becomes UK’s first non-White British PM, amidst growing political division & economic challenges

Rishi Sunak is now Prime Minister of Great Britain, the first non-White British to hold the office. At 42, Sunak is also the second youngest PM in British history and the first British-Asian and first Hindu to hold the top office of the country. Sunak’s status as a non-White British has come into play as some Conservative voters have indicated they will not be voting for him because of his ethnic background.

The politician, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson, however, focused on the issues that are threatening to divide the country.

“I will unite our country not with words but with action. I will work day in and day out to deliver for you,” he promised in his first speech as PM.

Citing the values of integrity and accountability at every level as his stronghold.

Despite happening many years ago, Brexit remains a huge challenge and a divisive factor within UK politics. This together with the impact of COVID-19 and the Energy Crisis arising from the war in Ukraine, has placed the UK on the brink of an economic crisis characterised by rising inflation, and high costs of living.

Rishi Sunak is therefore taking over a country that is not only facing political and economic challenges but one that is greatly polarised.

Addressing these, Rishi outlined the path he intends to take and the errors he intends to correct, taking over from Liz Truss who resigned after just 6 weeks after taking over.

“I understand too that I have to work to restore trust, after all that has happened. All I can say is that I am not daunted,” he remarked, adding that he hopes to live by the high standards of his office.

Rishi also made remarks on his two immediate predecessors, pledging to bring about a change.

Among these, he said, is ensuring that the next generation of British citizens are not left with a heavy debt to pay. The government he leads, he told them, “will not leave the next generation … with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves.”

Who is Rishi Sunak?

In 1980, Indian parents who had immigrated to the UK from east Africa gave birth to Sunak in Southampton. His mother owned a pharmacy, while his father owned a General Practice (GP) Surgery. Sunak, the oldest of three children, received his education at Winchester College, a luxury boarding school that costs £43,335 a year to attend.

Like countless others before him, Sunak continued his education by studying politics, philosophy, and economics at the University of Oxford. He received a first-class degree. At Stanford University, where he subsequently earned an MBA, he met Akshata Murty, the woman who would become his wife. They have two daughters.

Sunak became prime minister in under seven years, which is quicker than any previous PM in the contemporary era. Although David Cameron accomplished the same thing in nine years, Pitt the Younger still owns the overall record with just two.

Sunak’s climb to the summit wasn’t without its bumps. He was anticipated to leave parliament after losing to Liz Truss in a vote of Tory members on September 5; he last spoke in the Commons the day after Truss was elected prime minister. But Sunak was prepared with the backing of the followers he had gained over the course of the summer campaign when Truss was brought down in flames by her catastrophic and unfunded tax cuts.

After assuming the leadership, Sunak, whose career has been characterised by fiscal conservatism, told MPs that his objective was to create a “very productive UK economy” and that he supported low taxes but that it had to be feasible and attainable.