Political friends in UK fall apart

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were not always bitter rivals. Sunak’s rise to prominence within the Conservative Party was due to his support for Johnson’s bid to become prime minister and he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019 as a reward. When tensions arose between the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) Sajid Javid and Prime Minister Johnson, leading to Javid’s resignation, Sunak was appointed finance minister in February 2020 at the age of 39.

Sunak, soon after assuming office as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was confronted by the challenge of managing Covid-19 pandemic.  He instituted an economic package including some £330-billion support to businesses and workers and a scheme to benefit restaurants and pubs. He was described as ‘Dishy Rishi’ by the Daily Mail, and ‘Britain’s sexiest Member of Parliament in 2020’.  

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However, the tide turned. In April 2022, he faced scrutiny when the British media revealed that his wife was an Indian citizen, a self-declared non-domiciled person, and had saved about £20 million in taxes during seven and a half years of marriage. Additionally, his possession of a US green card , which gave him the right to US residency, raised questions about his loyalty to Britain. Sunak also faced criticism and penalty for attending a lockdown-breaking birthday party at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s residence.  

Between April and July 2022, Sunak became disillusioned with Johnson because the premier was telling parliament many falsehoods. There was suspicion that Sunak was plotting to overthrow Johnson, which could explain why he opposed giving his WhatsApp messages to the investigators looking into Johnson’s behaviour. In July 2022, both Sunak and Sajid Javed, who was the health secreatary, resigned from their positions, further weakening Johnson’s position.

Some right-wing Conservatives led by Johnson termed Sunak’s behaviour traitorous. Although Sunak presented himself as Johnson’s successor and was chosen by Conservative MPs despite being the first non-white and first Hindu candidate, he could not persuade the party rank and file, who preferred Liz Truss. When Truss resigned, Sunak successfully positioned himself as the leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.  

This was seized upon by the media to pit Sunak against Johnson. There is ample evidence of friction between the two, but the media used the opportunity to amplify it, and this suited Johnson and his allies, who further fuelled the press coverage.

The animosity stemmed from Sunak’s perceived betrayal of Johnson and their clashes over political decisions. Johnson’s dramatic return from the Caribbean during the vote for the leadership of the party to attempt to challenge Sunak’s leadership ambitions failed even as a few of his influential supporters engaged the press, making their voices heard. However, as had Johnson’s other mutinies, it fizzled out. Johnson resigned from parliament but not before making his bitterness known and unsavoury remarks about the Committee. Despite his dash back to London from the Caribbean, he failed to bid for the premiership, and in March this year only 21 colleagues backed him against Sunak’s agreement with the EU on Northern Ireland. 

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This left Sunak with the challenge of uniting the far-right faction of the Conservative Party with the rest of the party. He absented himself from the debate on the Privileges Committee report, saying at a public meeting that he respected the vote of the House. “…Regarding Boris Johnson, but he was not focused on the past... Johnson is no longer a member of parliament, and it is right that people, whoever they are, whatever position they hold, are accountable for their actions.” When questioned about his own integrity, Sunak stated, “It’s not an easy thing to resign as Chancellor. I did that because, as I said at the time, I disagreed with [Johnson’s] approach to government. I’m prepared to act according to my values and the standards that I want to see.”

In a public opinion poll conducted by YouGov in late June, Sunak was considered favourably by 27%, against Johnson’s 20% and 72% unfavourably. Despite this lead, Sunak will feel continuously oppressed by Johnson’s popularity among jingoistic nationalists and those supporting Brexit. The public’s mood can be fickle, and as the late Prime Minister Harold Wilson said, “A week is a long time in politics.” The mutual acrimony between the former and present prime ministers is yet to be played out.

(Krishnan Srinivasan is a former foreign secretary & Julius Fein is a British historian)