IT SHOULD be a happy year end for the suave “accidental” Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. When he was chancellor from 2020-22 and living in the No 10 flat while Boris and Carrie Johnson held court in the upstairs apartment next door, Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, settled in quickly. After Liz Truss won the summer leadership race and made no offer to Sunak to serve in her Cabinet it looked like he and his family might not be visiting again anytime soon. But when Truss crashed and burned along with her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, Sunak was the default candidate to stop markets mayhem and a slide towards Labour. There was, says one of those restored to Cabinet, “a huge sense of relief that we were no longer banging our collective head on a brick wall and making it bleed support”.
The honeymoon has been brief. This week, a flagship policy on house-building targets to address a severe shortage of homes had to be withdrawn after a backbench rebellion by more than 100 MPs. Ministers also face a row over whether the Government wants tougher caps on asylum numbers — with rival Cabinet factions claiming different outcomes are on the table.
The political message is clear — just a couple of months into his tenure, Sunak cannot rely on his MPs to back him on decisive legislation. Another split is between Tories (such as David Davis) who believe the “online harms” Bill to protect the young and vulnerable from harmful social media is unworkable and those who believe the party’s faith in “big tech” has led to a free-for-all.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis