Why is Sunak entering no 10 without his family supporting him?

[Dinaprettyballerina]

Genuine question or maybe they want to stay completely out of the limelight? Feel a tad sorry for him, he looks so excited:(

A guy got accepted to go to Oxford, worked hard and got a 1st; then went to Stanton on the Fulbright program to get an MBA. And instead of people thinking that's admirable, people are pulling him down. I suspect not because he hasn't achieved anything worthwhile but because he is a Tory.

The missing piece here is his high school. He had an open door to Oxford (or Cambridge) due to his schooling. Had he gone to a local Southampton comp and worked hard, it's actually unlikely he'd have made it into Oxbridge. He'd have probably got into a red brick uni, which isn't bad, obviously.

But he's my age and the uni options available to those of us who worked really hard at school (arguably harder, as we didn't have the educational opportunities Winchester offered) were different than our peers in top public schools. And that continued even for those of us in red brick unis who wanted to get into banking. Including there being a difference between uni students at red brick unis who went to public school vs those who didn't. It made a BIG difference if you had high school alumni at the bank you were applying to. Unless, of course, it was just total coincidence!

Once in the bank you definitely had to prove yourself, you couldn't stay there because of your schooling. But up until then, you had open doors you needed to do "well enough" in order to get through. Without the alumni/contacts then you had to be actively impressive.

I have experience of all of this.

I think Sunak is intellectually impressive. But the idea he achieved what he did in a way that is comparable to anybody who didn't have his schooling background is absolutely disingenuous.

If top public schools didn't confer social advantage, they wouldn't exist.

And he knows this very well because he's got his own children in schools at least as socially advantageous as his was.

Absolutely.

He has done well in his life, he has worked hard and I hope he succeeds.

Thats false. She paid tax on her income generated in India, in India.

When was this confirmed? Last I heard, she had said she did pay taxes but hadn't specified the jurisdiction: obviously the UK and India aren't the only options here. And naturally the optics would be much better for her if it were India rather than some tax haven, so if it were in fact the latter she would have good reason to try and blur the details. I couldn't find any confirmation of whether she actully pays in India or not on a 30 second google, but you may know more than I do.

My kids wouldn't care a bit if I was made PM Tbh, they'd rather be at a party with their mates any day than a boring work 'do' no matter how important the job 🤷

whats Ethically Jewish???? Do you mean ethnically? I doubt it. Nobody says that

It's half-term, they get 2 weeks holiday, they're rich, he's going to be working crazy hours & it's Diwali. If they have any sense they'll be on holiday - I would be!

@daretodenim
Very well put.

I imagine. He didn’t want to be dangling his tax dodging billionaire wife in front of the camera.

I am not a big conservative supporter, but have a lot of respect for the Murthy's. They are not your typical billionaires. Working hard , making money, being successful and ambitious are traits that needs to be appreciated.

Listen to Sudha Murthy

daretodenim
My point exactly this is why his parents sent him to Winchester

I feel sad that he will do nothing for people from a similar background, and instead like, Priti Patel, he wants to shut the door behind them

I don’t vote Tory but wished we’d have had Rishi the first time round, and given circumstances am relieved it’s him relative to alternatives.

In the scheme of things I couldn’t care less about his schooling and wife etc. and will judge him on policy and impact. Liz Truss’ husband isn’t into tax avoidance that we know of and didn’t stop her royally fucking up the economy so spectacularly there aren’t enough adjectives for it. She also alleges to have gone to a comp school yet had neither competence nor empathy, so not sure what correlation/causation point is trying to be made.

Let him get on with it.

I am all for hard work

However tell that to people holding down two jobs and still needing to go to food banks to feed their families

I imagine. He didn’t want to be dangling his tax dodging billionaire wife in front of the camera.

Yes, and I suspect the pair of them will want as little attention drawn to her as possible. There's no doubt whatsoever that a billionaire with controversial tax arrangements, particularly one who didn't even make the money herself but who owes everything to who she happened to be born to, is going to be a liability for Sunak's public image in a spiralling cost of living crisis. So he probably started as he means to go on.

@ProfessorLayton1 thanks for the vid, I think that comment of mine looks like I’m disagreeing with that poster but I’m not! What I know of the family they seem admirable

@PerfectlyPreservedQuagaarWarrior why is it a negative against her that she has inherited wealth? Plenty of people do.

And?

No he did that during lockdown

(And has been fined for his crime)

@PerfectlyPreservedQuagaarWarrior why is it a negative against her that she has inherited wealth? Plenty of people do.

Rather fewer have it to that extent, however.

So it's the optics. People are going to be struggling to heat and eat this winter, there are liable to be deaths from cold. There'll be people working all the hours they can and simply not able to pay the bills because everything is so much more expensive than it was a year or two ago. All PMs are richer than the average, the salary and free accommodation alone would see to that, but this one is in a different stratosphere. It is going to be an absolute gift to the opposition: look at this billionaire, he has no idea, global elite, he could buy half the country if he wanted etc etc. The digs write themselves.

And that matters. You don't have to like it, or think it should, but that's a totally different question to the impact it will have. And Sunak himself appears to understand this.

Well some care about that but some don’t. I don’t care. Also, how much money does someone’s partner have to inherit before you don’t think they should be PM? The politics of envy never really does anyone any favours.

Well some care about that but some don’t. I don’t care. Also, how much money does someone’s partner have to inherit before you don’t think they should be PM? The politics of envy never really does anyone any favours.

Neither does making things up.

Pointing out that something is a problem for a politician and as such they're likely to try and curate their image in a way that takes this into account simply doesn't amount to saying they shouldn't be PM. It isn't a point about principles, it's a point about presentation.

The problem is that because you would like this not to be a negative for Sunak, you posted based on that rather than what was actually said. But it doesn't have anything to do with what one thinks of him personally, you could be his biggest supporter and still recognise the situation. Indeed it's a virtual certainty that his team are aware of the issue and have discussed it. They'd be absolute fuckwits if they hadn't.

He went there on a scholarship. Good for him.

Because he is a capable, professional adult who is going to work? He doesn't need "support". And all the wife & family stuff is a distraction that panders to the celebrity narrative, as well as feeding an element of misogyny in that the papers then bang on about the clothes etc.
Protection of young children's privacy is important too, of course, but I think Mr Sunak's wife definitely made the right call here.

Once again all this "tax dodging" stuff is simply incorrect. They manage their finances efficiently and within the law, just as anyone would do. All this "politics of envy" is horrible and unnecessary.

The problem is that because you would like this not to be a negative for Sunak

Im not that invested in Sunak actually! I would like someone’s wealth or lack of it to not be a factor in the job they get. So please don’t make assumptions about what I think. I apologise as I did that to you, and assumed based on your comments that it matters to you personally what his wife’s wealth is. I’m certain his team are aware, it would be stupid to say otherwise. My point that obviously wasn’t clear enough, is that I don’t think it’s so much of a factor in todays society. It bothers some, but not all and not as many as it used to. Other cultures, America for example, think someone being financially successful is a huge positive and they don’t object to generational wealth. The UK is changing IMO and are moving towards a similar way of thinking. Like a lot of cultural shifts, I think Labour aren’t as aware of this. For me, growing up very working class, I’m immensely proud of some family members who started with less than nothing and are now hugely successful, one significantly so. I don’t see it as a negative.

He is less likely to be caught with his hand in the till in times of scarcity if he is wealthy (although there is always the odd exception).

Yesterday, he was trying to downplay his victory in order to communicate the message: "I am a high achiever, I have a good handle on the economy but please do not build me up into some kind of messianic figure or unfairly pick apart my family life. I am here to limit damage, not to re deliver the Halycon days".