rishi sunak

rise to PM:

• Conservative politician Rishi Sunak has been Member of Parliament for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015 and became prime minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Liz Truss in 2022.​

• In January 2018 Sunak was appointed to his first cabinet post as undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.​

• He became a vocal supporter of Boris Johnson, and when Johnson became party leader and prime minister, he rewarded Sunak by appointing him chief secretary to the Treasury in July 2019.​

• In February 2020 Johnson promoted Sunak to the post of chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) after Sajid Javid quit. Almost immediately Sunak was faced with the steep challenges brought about by the arrival in Britain of the COVID-19 pandemic. ​

  • Sunak unveiled £12bn of pandemic spending, including at least £5bn for the NHS in England and other public services, alongside £7bn for businesses and workers across the UK to try and offset the economic damage. Sunak’s most controversial scheme to boost the economy was Eat Out to Help Out, which ran during August 2020.​

  • It covered half the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks for an unlimited number of visits in participating restaurants on Mondays to Wednesdays, up to £10 per person every visit, and over 160 million meals were claimed, costing £849m.​

  • Sunak wanted to encourage people to be less fearful of going out, and while supporting struggling businesses was a necessary objective, there were many far more Covid-safe ways to do this. 

  • Research has shown that “eat out to help out” resulted in a steep increase in infections and is thought to have triggered the second wave ​

  • "May have been responsible for around 8% to 17% of all new SARS-CoV-2 infections during the period it was active."​

  • In late 2021, reports first surfaced that Johnson and members of his cabinet and staff had violated social-distancing orders earlier in the pandemic and were accused of having held parties during times when the government had banned such events - resulting scandal was called “Partygate.”

  • In April 2022 Sunak was fined by the police for having attended one of those parties. Others, including Johnson, also faced fines.

• On July 5th Sunak resigned from the cabinet and contributed to a groundswell of opposition within the Conservative Party that eventually forced Johnson to resign as party leader.​

•  Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss emerged as the final two candidates to replace Johnson. On September 5, Truss secured the party leadership with 57.4 percent of the vote, compared with 42.6 percent for Sunak, she was installed as prime minister the next day.​

• Truss’s tenure in office proved to be the shortest in British history at just over six weeks. Sunak, who had warned against Truss’s tax-cut measures, emerged as the favorite in the ensuing party leadership contest. On October 24 the Conservatives announced the selection of Sunak as their new leader.​

main events:

• 5 pledges:

  • halve inflation

  • grow the economy

  • get debt falling

  • cut nhs waiting lists

  • stop the boats

how these helped/hindered them:

• sunak's record: achieved inflation pledge, slow economic growth (possibly due to global energy price fall).

• debt hasn't fallen yet (88% of GDP in November 2024, compared to 85% at the end of 2022), forecast to fall in 2028/29.

• doubt surrounds debt reduction pledge due to lack of detail on extremely tight spending plans.

• chancellor jeremy hunt claims to be on track for the pledge based on OBR's predicted fall in 2028-29.

more main events:

• january 4, 2023: pm rishi sunak outlines five pledges for the year - only inflation halved so far.

• june 29, 2023: court of appeal rules government's rwanda asylum plan unlawful.

• july 5: parliamentary staff report "predatory culture" in westminster, women and equalities committee chair caroline nokes shares experiences of inappropriate behaviour.

• october 1-4: conservatives hold party conference in manchester, heckling incident during suella braverman's speech.

• october 4: sunak announces cancellation of west midlands to manchester leg of HS2 rail project, age increase for tobacco purchases, and plans to replace A Levels and T Levels.

• november 13: suella braverman sacked as home secretary, leading to a cabinet reshuffle with james cleverly as her replacement.

• november 14, 2023: surprise return of david cameron as foreign secretary and life peer in the house of lords.

• november 15: supreme court rules the government's plan to deport migrants to rwanda unlawful.

• december 5: home secretary james cleverly signs a new treaty with rwanda to address supreme court concerns.

• december 6: immigration minister robert jenrick resigns, citing dissatisfaction with emergency rwanda legislation.

• december 12: UK government narrowly avoids major defeat as MPs vote 313–269 in favor of the revised rwanda bill after last-ditch talks with conservative splinter groups.

problems:

• sunak sets up independent investigations into ministers' poor behavior, appoints independent adviser on ministerial interests.

• early months of sunak's government marred by scandals: gavin williamson and dominic raab resign, nadhim zahawi fired over tax affairs.

• return of lord cameron and firing of mrs. braverman risks deepening divisions among conservative MPs.

• conservative former cabinet minister sir jacob rees-mogg warns of the party losing votes to the reform party.

• braverman accuses PM of "double standards" on police response to protests, criticizes handling of right-wing vs. pro-palestinian demonstrators.

• braverman writes resignation letter to PM sunak, questioning his ability to achieve priorities, including stopping small boat crossings.

• alludes to a deal during the leadership contest that secured sunak's position as prime minister.

relationship w/ parliament n cabinet:

• sunak conducts three cabinet reshuffles since becoming prime minister in october 2022.

• high turnover of ministers, particularly in roles of chancellor, health secretary, education secretary, and trade secretary.

• main driver behind reshuffle is the need to replace rebellious hard-right home secretary braverman, who defied prime ministerial orders with public accusations against the police.

• not removing braverman from the cabinet would have badly undermined prime ministerial authority.

• critics from the party's more moderate wing accuse braverman of trying to provoke her own dismissal.

• The undeniable tensions between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury under Wallace will have likely played a part in the prime minister's decision to replace him with someone less likely to kick up a fuss over defence spending. (Is Rishi Sunak surrounding himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear?)​

• Relationship with his cabinet is not very smooth - there are deep divisions over immigration policy and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. ​

• Some Tory MPs have called for his removal, saying he is leading the party to a “shattering defeat” in the next election2. Others have defended him, saying he is a capable leader who has delivered economic stability and tax cuts. ​

• He faces challenges from both inside and outside his party...​

in control or controlled?

• sunak desperate to pass the rwanda bill, aiming to deport refugees by declaring rwanda safe, despite supreme court ruling against it.

• party divided on the bill: some consider it abandoning britain's commitment to international law, while others think it doesn't go far enough.

• sunak lacks control; jenrick's resignation signals discontent. refusal to make rwanda bill a confidence vote implies fear of losing.

• only 11 tory rebels voted against the bill, but dissatisfaction remains high. former minister simon clarke calls for the prime minister's resignation, adding to party crisis.

• sunak, nominally in charge, is perceived as not genuinely in control of the party.

downfall approaching?

• NHS faces potential winter crisis as Rishi Sunak falls short of targets set last January for emergency care improvement.

• Three significant rebellions during Sunak's premiership: proposed changes to migrant plan and a smaller rebellion of 11 against the plan in its entirety.

• "Popular Conservatism" group emerges, suggesting a desire for a more robust leader on immigration and tax cuts.

• Sir Simon argues that polling indicates the Conservatives might benefit from a leader other than Sunak, seen as a potential drain on party support.

legacy:

• Rishi Sunak reportedly wants his legacy to be 35-year-olds asking their 36-year-old friends to buy them cigarettes in 20 years’ time.​

• Really gonna be: RWANDA BILL - FAILURE​