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Errant Soul

Rishi Sunak’s legacy as the UK’s first British Indian and non-Christian Prime Minister is marked by many controversies.

By Rafi Khan | August 2024

It’s the morning of Friday, 5th July 2024. The famous door number 10 of Downing Street opens, and out walks Rishi Sunak, prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Island, and his wife, First Lady Akshata Murty. Looking solemn, she stands almost motionless, a few feet behind her husband, who approaches the lectern and speaks with humility and dignity. After he finishes, she moves close to him, holds his hand, and they walk away, alone and together. A tinge of sadness runs through my body.

Just a few hours later, a large crowd of party workers, members of the shadow cabinet, and well-wishers lined the location with cheers, greetings, smiles, and hugs. The same lonely, gloomy backdrop was transformed into a cheerful, lively, and festive panorama as a delighted Sir Keir Starmer got out of his car and approached the people with his beaming wife, Victoria Alexander.

Here is the opening and some extracts of the outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak’s speech.

“Good morning. I would shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as prime minister……

To the country, first and foremost, I am sorry. I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change….

While he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our prime minister….

I wish him and his family well.”

And here is the exact, unedited transcript of the opening lines of the incoming prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s speech.

“Good afternoon. I have just returned from Buckingham Palace, where I accepted the invitation from His Majesty the King to form the next government of this great nation. I want to thank the outgoing prime minister, Rishi Sunak, for his achievement as the first British Asian prime minister of our country. The extra effort for that will have required, should not be underestimated by anyone. We pay tribute to that today, and we also recognise the dedication and hard work he brought to his leadership. But now our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and return of politics for public service.”

For history, all this happened in less than twenty-four hours, on Friday, 5th July, as a consequence of the Parliamentary elections, which closed at 10 p.m. on Thursday, 4th July 2024. That concluded the most amazing, incredible, and peaceful transfer of power and a change of government in the world.

As the polls were indicating, it was a landslide for Labour. They got 411 seats, a massive gain of 210. The Conservatives got 121 seats, a devastating loss of 251 seats. This was the Conservative Party’s worst-ever defeat.

Among the Tory grandees who fell from their perch were Grant Shapps, Gillian Keegan, Therese Coffey, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox, Johnny Mercer, Alex Chalk, and Jacob Rees-Mogg. But the most pleasure, unfortunately, someone’s fall from grace has given anyone was that of Liz Truss, who never showed any regret for her 49-day premiership misadventure.

The rest of the seats were acquired by the Liberal Democrats: 72, with a major gain of 64 seats. Scottish National Party: 9. Sinn Fein: 7. Independent: 6. Democratic Unionist Party: 5. Reform UK: 5. Green: 4. Plaid Cymru: 4. Social Democratic and Labour Party: 2. Traditional Unionist Voice: 1. Alliance: 1. Ulster Unionist Party: 1. Speaker: 1.

With his outstanding leadership, Sir Keir Starmer transformed Labour’s worst defeat in the last elections into its second-best-ever victory in just one term. He wasted no time in forming his diverse cabinet of twenty-five members.

Of those, eleven are women, and they are there not just as props; they are chosen for being effective, competent, and professional. They are decision-makers. Take a look at the first five who hold the top jobs: Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister; Rachel Reeves, Chancellor; Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary; Shabana Mahmood, Justice Secretary; Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary. The Foreign Secretary is a gentleman named David Lamy.
So, what went wrong for the Conservatives? They had been in office for 14 years, and historically, no British government has ever won five times consecutively.

Brexit had already divided the country. Lies were spread about how much we paid the European Union weekly. Brexit could easily have gone the other way. But the voices of the liars, unfortunately, are almost always more raucous than those who believe that truth will prevail. Nigel Farage, who, in the 2024 election, got a seat after losing a record seven times, was also a vociferous partner in crime in the success of the leavers, those who wanted Britain to leave the European Union. It is believed that when the then prime minister David Cameron called for a referendum in 2016, he did not believe that the people of the UK would vote to leave the EU.


Back to 2024. As was expected, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK did cause damage to the Conservatives by attracting many disillusioned voters. Though his party, including himself, got only five seats.

And then there was Boris Johnson; he and his staff held parties during the COVID at Downing Street—a blatant disregard for the rules his government had set. There were people in the country who could only see their loved ones from behind glass partitions, and lots of them were not even allowed to visit their dying dear ones because of the very strict travel restrictions. However, Boris Johnson’s chief of staff defied and broke those for his personal needs. Much later, when he was relieved of his services, he promptly made scathing attacks on his boss. Even the outgoing prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was fined by the police for his part in the Downing Street parties.

It is believed that when the then prime minister David Cameron called for a referendum in 2016, he did not believe that the people of the UK would vote to leave the EU.

There were strict travel restrictions in place. Boris Johnson’s chief of staff, who, after being jettisoned, made scathing attacks on his boss, had himself broken travel restrictions during COVID.

Former House of Commons speaker Mr. John Bercow, had this to say about Mr. Johnson: “I do think that he is someone who has only a nodding acquaintance with the truth in a leap year, and I think the utter contempt with which he has treated the parliament is lamentable…”

Even the outgoing prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was fined by the police for participating in the Downing Street parties.

So, Boris Johnson ultimately had to go, but the Conservatives got the arrogant Liz Truss after that. Her brief stay and disastrous mini budget greatly dented the Conservatives’ reputation for their economic expertise.

The UK, and especially London, is famous for standing up for the rights of the people, be it the war in Iraq, apartheid in South Africa, the effects of climate change, carbon footprints, the use of fossil fuels, and much more.

Marches and protests are a feature of the democratic UK, especially in London. Protests could be for or against; sometimes, standoffs also happen between opponents. The police certainly have a difficult job keeping things peaceful, keeping the opposing factions at bay, and avoiding and diffusing clashes as much as possible.

The government, in most cases, stands by the police. But Rishi Sunak was not very happy and is on record warning the police chiefs of a “growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule.” However, human rights group Amnesty International responded that the PM “wildly exaggerates the issue.” Suella Braverman, the home secretary in Sunak’s government, labelled the demonstrations “hate marches.”

Amazing Mr Sunak. He finds the streets of London unsafe for those who have been living here for one, two, three, or many generations but finds the streets of Rwanda safe for those his government chooses. Sorry, flights to that safe destination are not expected to take off until his return.

What perhaps Mr Sunak did not or decided not to consider was that even the police believed that most of the marches for the Palestinian cause and the war in Gaza were peaceful. They were not just Muslims who were walking down or crowding the streets of London at weekends; those marches included people from various faiths and beliefs, including, yes, the Jews.

Mr Sunak and his well-spoken wife, who once introduced him at a Conservative Party conference, believe he is a man of integrity, in addition to other leadership qualities. It’s a pity that this particular attribute was perhaps lost in translation for him.

It is said that a lawyer lies to save someone, an errant soul. A politician with no soul lies to save his seat.

Well, all is not doom and gloom. Most of the above was about the non or inadequate performance of the now almost disintegrated Conservative Party, which has come to pass.

Let’s hope and celebrate the beginning of a bright future and give the Labour Party, with Sir Keir Starmer at the helm, a chance to perform and prove what they promised for the land and its people.

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