Racism not a factor in race for UK PM, says Rishi Sunak
LONDON: Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that racism was not a factor Conservative party members’ decision to vote for the party’s next leader and successor to Boris Johnson as UK Prime Minister.
The runner-up in the race to 10 Downing Street who trails his opponent, the Foreign Secretary Liz Trussin surveys conducted during the leadership campaign due to end on September 5, rejected factors such as gender or ethnicity are thought to play a role in Conservative members’ postal votes from next week .
This followed an Indian-born businessman and Conservative Party donor, Lord Rami Ranger, saying in a video last week that Britain would be seen as racist if Sunak lost the Tory leadership election. .
“I absolutely don’t think that’s a factor in anyone’s decision. I just don’t think it’s fair,” Sunak told the ‘Daily Telegraph’ in an interview.
“I was chosen as MP for Richmond… Our members rightly put merit above all else. I’m sure when they think about this they are just looking at who is the best person to being prime minister…, ethnicity and everything else will have nothing to do with it,” said the Tory MP for Richmond, Yorkshire.
The 42-year-old British Indian politician acknowledges having ‘caught up’ to Liz Truss in the race as he continues his UK campaign tour to win votes from Conservative Party members.
“Not so long ago, the comment was that I wouldn’t even have entered this competition,” he pointed out, referring to the attacks on his wife. Akshata Murtithe tax status of its Infosys shares.
“I believe I can build a country where the defining characteristics of our society are hard work, aspiration and hope, a society where a world-class education is the birthright of every child, a society where we run the world and standards of decency and integrity, and a society where we’re really proud of our history and our traditions, but we’re really confident about our future. We don’t hear a lot about it because everything the world wants to focus on a very narrow conversation,” he said, alluding to his disappointment with tax cuts being the race’s dominating issue.
As part of his plans to reform the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) if elected Prime Minister, Sunak said he would impose a temporary £10 fine on patients who fail to show up at a general practitioner (GP) or outpatient appointment without giving sufficient notice to allow the practice or hospital to offer the slot to another patient.
The first time a patient misses an appointment they will get the ‘benefit of the doubt’ but subsequent missed appointments will incur a £10 charge each time.
“We already pay for appointments. If they’re not used, it’s a waste. So if we can change that, we’ll essentially get more out of the money we’re investing today. That’s a good example of a conservative approach to this problem,” he told the newspaper.
In interactions with Tory members during the election campaign, his supporters have urged him not to give up even though he is the “underdog” of the race.
“I fight for the values I believe in. I fight for the things I think are good for our country. And I’m not going to stop,” he reassured a supporter.
The runner-up in the race to 10 Downing Street who trails his opponent, the Foreign Secretary Liz Trussin surveys conducted during the leadership campaign due to end on September 5, rejected factors such as gender or ethnicity are thought to play a role in Conservative members’ postal votes from next week .
This followed an Indian-born businessman and Conservative Party donor, Lord Rami Ranger, saying in a video last week that Britain would be seen as racist if Sunak lost the Tory leadership election. .
“I absolutely don’t think that’s a factor in anyone’s decision. I just don’t think it’s fair,” Sunak told the ‘Daily Telegraph’ in an interview.
“I was chosen as MP for Richmond… Our members rightly put merit above all else. I’m sure when they think about this they are just looking at who is the best person to being prime minister…, ethnicity and everything else will have nothing to do with it,” said the Tory MP for Richmond, Yorkshire.
The 42-year-old British Indian politician acknowledges having ‘caught up’ to Liz Truss in the race as he continues his UK campaign tour to win votes from Conservative Party members.
“Not so long ago, the comment was that I wouldn’t even have entered this competition,” he pointed out, referring to the attacks on his wife. Akshata Murtithe tax status of its Infosys shares.
“I believe I can build a country where the defining characteristics of our society are hard work, aspiration and hope, a society where a world-class education is the birthright of every child, a society where we run the world and standards of decency and integrity, and a society where we’re really proud of our history and our traditions, but we’re really confident about our future. We don’t hear a lot about it because everything the world wants to focus on a very narrow conversation,” he said, alluding to his disappointment with tax cuts being the race’s dominating issue.
As part of his plans to reform the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) if elected Prime Minister, Sunak said he would impose a temporary £10 fine on patients who fail to show up at a general practitioner (GP) or outpatient appointment without giving sufficient notice to allow the practice or hospital to offer the slot to another patient.
The first time a patient misses an appointment they will get the ‘benefit of the doubt’ but subsequent missed appointments will incur a £10 charge each time.
“We already pay for appointments. If they’re not used, it’s a waste. So if we can change that, we’ll essentially get more out of the money we’re investing today. That’s a good example of a conservative approach to this problem,” he told the newspaper.
In interactions with Tory members during the election campaign, his supporters have urged him not to give up even though he is the “underdog” of the race.
“I fight for the values I believe in. I fight for the things I think are good for our country. And I’m not going to stop,” he reassured a supporter.