By Martha Ewing ’26
The last few months have been a rollercoaster for British politics. The climate is tense and there is civil unrest amongst the people. Most notably, Rishi Sunak was elected to be Prime Minister in October, 2022.
Ex-Prime Minister, Liz Truss, was voted out of office following an economic crash that took place shortly after she was elected. The 150,000 senior members of the Conservative Party voted Sunak into office, making him the first British Asian and Hindu to be Prime Minister. He is also one of the wealthiest Prime Ministers to take office, with him and his wife having a household worth of over £830 million.
Rishi Sunak attended Winchester College, a boarding school in the South of England before studying philosophy, politics, and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford. He then attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business in California and earned an MBA. Then, he became a member of the Conservative Party during his time at college, and interned at Investment Banking Company, Goldman Sachs.
Before becoming Prime Minister, Rishi served as the Chancellor of Exchequer from the 13th of February, until the 5th of July, 2022. He handled Britain’s finances and economic affairs with other countries.
Edited by Maisie Samuels
Sunak took office during a cost-of-living crisis in England. Prices have been soaring, and families are struggling to even heat their homes. Even after unveiling a £15 billion cost-of-living package when he was Chancellor, the financial turmoil in the UK is still very apparent. Since taking office, Rishi has reversed some of the controversial financial decisions Liz Truss had made in order to restabilize the economy. He has also sent tanks to aid Ukraine, as well as canceling the privatization of Channel 4 on BBC. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had decided he was going to sell the state-owned channel to a private company, but Sunak has reversed that decision and is keeping it as a public service.
So far, Rishi Sunak hasn’t made any extremely controversial decisions unlike his two recent predecessors. The economy is still struggling, however his election has prompted hope across the country, and perhaps he has what it takes to save the United Kingdom.
