Indian-origin AG Suella Braverman, Rishi Sunak expected to be UK PM race

LONDON: At least two Indian-origin Conservative MPs are expected to run for the Tory leadership.
Indian-origin attorney general Suella Braverman MP was the first person to formally declare a leadership bid even before Boris Johnson quit when she said live on TV on Wednesday night: “If there is a leadership contest, I will put my name into the ring. I love this country. My parents came here with absolutely nothing and it was Britain that gave them hope, security and opportunity, and this country has afforded me incredible opportunities in education and my career, and I owe a debt of gratitude to this country and to serve as prime minister would be the greatest honour.”

The 42-year-old former barrister was appointed attorney general, the government’s most senior law officer, who oversees the Crown Prosecution Service, in 2020. Her Indian-origin parents immigrated to Britain in the 1960s from Kenya and Mauritius. She grew up in Wembley, studied law at Cambridge and campaigned for the UK to leave the EU.


Although billionaire Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy’s son-in-law Rishi Sunak, who dramatically quit as chancellor on Tuesday, has not yet formally announced a leadership bid, he is widely expected to run and considered to be one of the front-runners in the race. In fact some of the bookies on Thursday, such as William Hill, had Sunak as their favourite to replace Johnson at 5/1.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss, former health secretary of Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid and defence secretary Ben Wallace are also expected to throw their hats in the ring when the contest is announced. The new leader will be selected by Conservative MPs and party members.
PM quitting won’t affect ties with UK: India
India said that the resignation of British PM Boris Johnson will not impact its relationship with UK as both countries share a close multifaceted partnership. “PM Narendra Modi and PM Boris Johnson have enjoyed a very close friendship. UK is an important strategic partner and we have shared a multifaceted partnership and relationship, which India would like to continue as it is based on links at various levels between our two people as well as various verticals as we discussed, as part of our partnership,” the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.
He said that the resignation of PM Johnson is an internal development which India is closely watching but the relations between the two countries will not be impacted. Further, responding to a question about the impact of Johnson’s resignation on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) deal between the two countries, Bagchi said that the negotiations between India and UK on FTA are going on and India hopes to sign the deal soon. “There is some degree of optimism that it could be done soon. We are speculating if Johnson’s resignation will impact the deal, but India hopes to carry forward the good momentum in the talks,” he said.