Rishi Sunak’s attempt to stay as Britain’s prime minister showed a lack of political sensitivity. The Conservative Party faced serious issues before their significant loss in the recent election, partly due to missteps by Britain’s wealthiest prime minister.
Previous leaders like Tony Blair and Boris Johnson were more politically savvy and better at connecting with voters.
Sunak could have waited until January 2025 to call the election, but against advice, he chose May. With Conservative support steadily declining due to economic troubles, ethical scandals, and frequent changes in leadership over the past two years, he announced the July 4 election date in heavy rain.
Additionally, the Conservative Party seemed less prepared for the campaign compared to Labour, and many voters haven’t felt improvements in Britain’s economy yet.
In his final speech outside 10 Downing Street, Sunak acknowledged responsibility for the defeat, saying, “I have heard your anger, your disappointment.”
Arguably, Sunak’s biggest mistake — one that he apologized for and many analysts believe severely hurt the Conservative Party’s campaign — was leaving early from the 80th D-day commemorations in northern France on June 6.
Critics argued that skipping this international event, which marked the end of the commemorations, showed disrespect to veterans and diminished the UK’s global reputation. Leaders like U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended, along with Keir Starmer, the UK’s new prime minister.
Born in 1980 in Southampton on England’s southern coast to parents of Indian descent, Sunak became Britain’s first leader of color and the first Hindu to become prime minister. At 42, he was Britain’s youngest leader in more than 200 years.
Sunak previously worked as a hedge fund manager at Goldman Sachs and married into a wealthy Indian family. He quickly advanced in the Conservative Party and became Treasury chief just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, at the age of 44.
Soon after, he had to announce the largest economic support package since wartime as Chancellor of the Exchequer, which many credit with saving millions of jobs.
Despite this high-spending action, Sunak has always favored low taxes and a smaller government, influenced by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Known for his polished demeanor and comfort with modern technology, Sunak earned the nickname “Dishy Rishi” and became one of the most popular figures in Boris Johnson’s government during the challenges of the pandemic.
Johnson resigned in the summer of 2022 after being accused of lying to Parliament about breaching coronavirus lockdown rules at Downing Street.
Adding to public distrust, Sunak’s successor, Liz Truss, supported tax cuts without funding, causing turmoil in financial markets and increasing borrowing costs, especially for homeowners struggling with the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. Truss’s tenure as prime minister was the shortest in UK history.
