After Boris Johnson’s resignation, a Tory leadership contest has begun. We’re not talking here about Larry the Cat’s catflap.
Tense rounds of voting are used to narrow down replacement candidates. The keys to Downing Street and the country’s future will go to the last remaining candidate.
Rishi Sunak, former chancellor, won the first round votes. He secured the support of 88 colleagues and is now one of the frontrunners for the full contest.
Sign upSubscribe to the Indy100 Weekly Newsletter
What does that translate into for Britain?
Here’s how to get to Sunak.
Background political
Rishi Sunak announces Tory leadership candidacy
Indy
Sunak was first elected to parliament in 2015. He then became chief secretary to the Treasury in 2019. Sunak was the chancellor between 2020 and just a few weeks ago.
The policies he was most famous for were Eat Out To Help Out and the furlough programme.
He is well-known for his recent policies, including a windfall tax that he borrowed from Labour, energy bill rebates more like loans and strange decisions to explore NFTs.
Views
Let’s examine what Sunak stands on different issues. He voted for Brexit in 2016 and has supported it ever since.
Last year, he spoke at the Tory Party Conference and said: “I believe the agility, flexibility and freedom provided by Brexit would be more valuable in a 21st-century global economy than just proximity to a market.”
He said that the economy is not a good one. “credible”He said that he favors long-term tax cuts, even though taxes could be cut while inflation remains high.
Sunak also stated that if elected to the PM position, he would not lift bans on grammar schools or hunting bans. In an interview, he declined support for an increase in defense spending. The Telegraph
As for social issues The Daily MailAccording to reports, he will lay out a “manifesto for women’s rights” in which he will argue that transgender women should be excluded from women’s sporting events, He has also spoken out against gender-neutral language, allies have said.
Scandals
Sunak’s tenure in office was not without scandals.
He was fined by the Metropolitan Police in April 2022 along with Johnson for violating lockdown rules at Downing Street event in June 2020.
He may not have properly registered his financial interests. When it was discovered that his wife wasn’t paying tax on overseas earnings, his popularity was a big hit. It was also revealed that he had a permanent resident card that was valid in the US up to 2021.
He has also been the subject matter of the age-old debate. “Just how rich is too rich to be PM”. We don’t know what he did, but he entered. Sunday TimesThis year’s rich list was not exactly filled with people who were eager to congratulate him. He was interviewed about bread prices, seen struggling to use a credit card and posed with expensive accessories, which begs the question: Does he really understand everyday life in Britain? He is living in a crisis of cost of living.
It’s up to the Tory party, however, to decide this matter.
Participate in our news democracy. Click here To help improve the ranking of this article, click the upvote icon located at the top right corner.