Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: Who is the politician and MP of Richmond (Yorks), what were his previous roles in government, how did he get into politics and where in Yorkshire does he own a house?

On October 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak was revealed as the next UK Prime Minister following the resignation of Liz Truss. He has been the MP of Richmond, North Yorkshire, since 2015.

He has been openly in favour of Brexit and has consistently voted against the UK membership of the EU. His voting records show his political views on various issues including health, education, economy, transport, social issues, taxes, employment and more.

His previous roles in government include Chancellor of the Exchequer, succeeding Sajid Javid. In April 2022, Rishi was fined following a police investigation into the Downing Street parties during lockdown in 2020.

Early childhood and education

Rishi was born to African Hindu parents, Yashvir and Usha Sunak, of Indian Punjabi descent and grew up in Southampton, Hampshire. His father was born and raised in Kenya and his mother was born in Tanganyika.

Yashvir was a GP and Usha was a pharmacist, who owned a local pharmacy. He has three siblings and is the oldest.

Both of his grandfathers were born in Punjab, India and migrated from East Africa with their families to the UK in the 1960s. His grandfather from his father’s side, Ramdas, worked as a clerk, whilst his grandfather from his mother’s side, Raghubir Sain Berry MBE, was a tax official who joined the Inland Revenue in the UK.

Rishi attended Stroud School, a prep school in Romsey, and Winchester College, a boys’ independent boarding school, where he was head boy. He used to work as a waiter at a curry house in Southampton during his summer holidays.

He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated with a first in 2001. During his course, he interned for a Conservative Campaign Headquarters and in 2006, he gained an MBA from Stanford University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

His career began in business rather than politics, as Rishi worked as an analyst for investment bank Goldman Sachs from 2001 to 2004. From there he worked for a hedge fund management firm at the Children’s Investment Fund Management, becoming a partner in September 2006 and left that job in 2009 to join a new hedge fund firm with his former colleagues. He was also director of investment firm Catamaran Ventures, owned by his father-in-law, N.R. Narayana Murthy between 2013 and 2015.

Political career

In October 2014, Rishi was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (Yorks) beating Wendy Morton. His predecessor was William Hague, a former leader of the Conservative party, foreign secretary and first secretary of state.

That same year, Rishi was head member of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Research Unit of centre-right think tank Policy Exchange. He was elected as MP for Richmond at the 2015 general election with a majority of 19,550 (36.2 per cent).

He was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee between 2015 and 2017.

Rishi supported the UK leaving the European Union at the June 2016 EU membership referendum. He also wrote for a Thatcherite think tank backing the establishment of free ports after Brexit.

A year later, he wrote a report supporting the creation of a retail bond market for small and medium-sized enterprises. Rishi was re-elected at the 2017 general election, with an increased majority of 23,108 (40.5 per cent).

He served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for local government between January 2018 and July 2019. Rishi also supported then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement three times and voted against a second referendum.

Rishi was a supporter of Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. He was chosen as chief secretary to the Treasury under Boris’s leadership on July 24, 2019, serving under Chancellor Sajid Javid

He became a member of the Privy Council the next day. He was again re-elected in the 2019 general election with an increased majority of 27,210 (47.2 per cent).

Rishi Sunak’s role as Chancellor of the Exchequer

Rishi was promoted to chancellor as part of a cabinet reshuffle on February 13, 2020 after Sajid had resigned following a meeting with Boris. His first budget occurred on March 11 that year which included £30 billion of additional spending, of which £12 billion was used to reduce the severity of the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

His approach to the financial crisis as a result of the pandemic attracted criticism and controversy as some workers were unable to qualify for the Treasury’s income support measures.

It was found that 100,000 people were not eligible for any type of government help as they started a new job too late to be included on the job retention scheme according to the Institute for Employment Studies. Whilst the British Hospitality Association alerted the Treasury Select Committee that between 350,000 and 500,000 workers in its sector were not eligible.

He was part of a committee of Cabinet ministers, including Boris, Matt Hancock and Michael Gove, that made decisions on the pandemic. Despite receiving a fixed penalty notice for attending a party during the Covid-19 lockdown, he did not make a statement or resign.

Under his role as chancellor, he introduced a few schemes including a £330 billion programme in emergency support for businesses, as well as a furlough scheme for employees. In July 2020, he announced a plan for a further £30 billion of spending which included a stamp duty holiday, a cut to value-added tax (VAT) for the hospitality sector, a job retention bonus for employers and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

The Eat Out to Help Out scheme was put in place to support and introduce new jobs in the hospitality sector and was available from August 3 to 31 on Monday to Wednesday each week. The government funded £849 million in food and soft drinks at participating cafes, pubs and restaurants at 50 per cent up to £10 per person.

In some ways the scheme worked, having boosted the hospitality industry, however, it also received criticism. Regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, the University of Warwick conducted a study which found that the scheme contributed to a rise in Covid-19 infections of between eight per cent and 17 per cent.

On September 26, Rishi opposed a second lockdown, threatening to resign, due to what he saw as the severe economic consequences it would have.

While he was chancellor, Rishi privately lobbied to impose a green levy, a scheme that promised to increase the petrol and diesel prices, to help pay for the plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. However, it was eventually rejected by Boris, who told officials that he did not want to increase costs for consumers.

Cost of living crisis

In October 2021, Rishi announced his third budget statement which included considerable spending promises to a large extent in relation to science and education. He made his spring statement on March 23, 2022, where he said that the improvement from the Covid-19 pandemic had been interrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Rishi cut fuel duty, removed VAT on energy saving equipment, including solar panels and insulation, and reduced national insurance payments for small businesses. He also vowed to reduce the income tax in 2024; the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that the tax burden would reach its highest level since the 1940s.

He also provided a £400 grant to help vulnerable people cope with the rising cost of living. However, in April 2022, Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Rishi of being ‘out of touch’ with the financial difficulties of ordinary people amid the cost of living crisis.

Rishi resigned as chancellor just moments after Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary on July 5, 2022 following controversy over the sexual harassment allegations against Chris Pincher MP.

Where in Yorkshire does Rishi Sunak own a house?

He married his wife, Akshata Murty in August 2009, the daughter of Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder of technology company Infosys.

They both met while studying at Stanford University and they have two daughters. They own Kirby Sigston Manor in the village of Kirby Sigston, North Yorkshire, as well as a mews house in Earl’s Court in central London, a flat on the Old Brompton Road, South Kensington.

They also own a penthouse apartment on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, California and Rishi is a teetotaller and was previously a governor of the East London Science School. He has a Labrador called Nova and is a cricket, tennis and horse racing fan.

He currently lives in a newly renovated home in West London after moving out of 11 Downing Street in April 2022.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2022 named Rishi and his wife the 222nd wealthiest people in the UK, with a combined net worth of £730 million.

In early 2022, it was reported that Akshata Murty had non-domiciled status which means she did not have to pay tax on income earned abroad while living in the UK. This resulted in media controversy.