The easy part is done. Rishi Sunak has become the first Indian-origin prime minister of Britain after Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the race as she failed to secure the support of the required number of MPs to stay in contention for the top government post.
However, the road ahead won’t be easy Rishi Sunak. With a spiralling economy and the political scene in the doldrums, Sunak’s term in office will be closely watched as he hits the ground running.
Economic woes
The challenges awaiting Rishi Sunak are humongous and of these, the economic woes of Britain will hold utmost priority.
Sunak will have to try to shore up an economy sliding toward recession and reeling after his predecessor, Liz Truss’ brief disastrous experiment in libertarian economics.
Inflation in the UK under Liz Truss and Boris Johnson rose to 40-year highs as citizens dealt with a growing cost of living. The consumer price index rose to 10.1 per cent in September, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure matched the CPI figure of July under Boris Johnson’s leadership. The CPI dipped marginally to 9.9 per cent in August, but Liz Truss failed to maintain the downward momentum.
Sunak is likely to have to oversee severe public spending cuts and, perhaps, even tax rises in order to balance the books.
He will also have to deal with the continuing cost-of-living crisis, further impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the harmful impact of runaway inflation.
In his first public statement, Sunak said, “The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge.”
“We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together,” he added.
He will also have to deal with disgruntled unions — earlier this year, train drivers and other sectors had gone on strike over their salaries. For the first time in its 106-year history, the Royal College of Nursing is also threatening a walkout in a dispute over pay.
Sunak will also have to tackle the rising number of ‘economically inactive’ working-age adults. Data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that almost nine million people in the age group of 16-64 are economically inactive. Sunak has to address this issue on priority.
Uniting the Tories
As 42-year-old Sunak stakes claim to form the government, he will have to keep in mind that he will be the fifth UK prime minister in six years and is taking over the Conservative Party that is riven with factions on issues like Brexit and immigration.
He will also have to deal with the presence of former prime minister Boris Johnson, who has raised the possibility that he could still chase a return to No10 at another date.
As the Daily Mail puts it, Sunak faces an immediate question over how to handle Johnson, who obviously believes his career in frontline politics is not over.
Sunak has hinted at a possible foreign diplomacy job for Johnson, saying: “I truly hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”
Sunak also has to reinstall the people’s faith in the Tories, who are currently staring at political oblivion on the basis of current opinion polls, which have given Labour huge leads amid the chaos of Truss’ premiership.
Another political challenge that Sunak faces is that he is not White, raising reservations among some people.
‘Rishi Sunak isn’t even British!’
Sangita Myska eviscerates this racist caller who says Tory party member won’t vote for Sunak because ‘he doesn’t represent Britain’.@SangitaMyska pic.twitter.com/xowtWAYTPk
— LBC (@LBC) October 22, 2022
The Ukraine war
Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is now in its 243rd day, is another test for Sunak. The new prime minister will be under pressure to continue Britain’s suppot for Kyiv, while also dealing with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
He will also face continued demands from Tory MPs to boost defence spending, having refused to commit to a target of raising it to three per cent of GDP.
China and UK ties
Sunak as the new prime minister will also take on a rapidly declining relationship with China.
In the past, Sunak has termed China as the “largest threat” to Britain and the world’s security and prosperity this century. He had also said that he would build a new international alliance of free nations to tackle Chinese cyber-threats and share best practice in technology security.
Northern Ireland
Apart from all his internal woes, Sunak also inherits the problematic Northern Ireland issue.
There is still no Northern Ireland Executive, and the legislative assembly cannot function. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is currently blocking the functioning of institutions as part of their protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Sunak will hope that increased positivity around the state of those negotiations with Brussels will soon lead to a breakthrough in the Protocol row.
Immigration
Since Brexit, Tory governments have issued unfulfilled promises to sharply cut immigration. This year, a record number of 37,570 people have crossed the Channel to England in small boats.
Sunak has backed a government plan to send asylum seekers who arrive in the UK illegally to Rwanda for processing. But the project has been blocked for months by legal action.
He has not yet made it clear what his stance will be on issuing more visas for workers needed to fill many blue-collar jobs in the UK.
With inputs from agencies
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