Eastern Eye (UK)

Welcome role model

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THE Labour MP, Nadia Wittome, thinks that Rishi Sunak as Britain’s prime minister ‘isn’t a win for Asian representa­tion’.

Tell that to six-year-old BritishBan­gladeshi boy Sulaimaan, who met Sunak in the summer, and chatted with him about their matching brown shoes and their shared love of Star Wars.

When he was told on Monday (24) that his ‘friend’ had become prime minister, he asked the question, ‘So am I going to be prime minister after him?’

Wittome pointed out that Sunak and his wife had ‘twice the estimated wealth of King Charles III’ and that if you are ‘black, white or Asian – if you work for a living, he is not on your side’.

The MP for Nottingham East makes it sound like previous prime ministers including Liz Truss and Boris Johnson or former Labour leaders such as Tony Blair went from living in a council estate to moving into Downing Street.

In truth, Sunak’s wealth means nothing. No previous prime minister could relate to your everyday person who is struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Whether you have the Sunak family’s reported billions or Blair’s millions, it makes no difference. The wealth of prime ministers automatica­lly means they are shielded from worries about food and energy costs.

Some British Asians fear Sunak will not do anything for their communitie­s. That’s for the future; he will rightly be held accountabl­e for his actions in government. But for now, British Asians need to enjoy this moment, not, like Wittome, attempt to question his motives and allegiance­s before he has even stepped into Downing Street.

Sunak has smashed through the glass ceiling – one which many British Asians never thought they would see in their lifetimes.

Whether he is good or bad for British Asians remains to be seen. What he will always be is a signal of hope for young Asian kids like Sulaimaan that they too can be the ‘next’ prime minister.

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