Rishi’s rock is star of the show
THE position of spouse to the British Prime Minister is a delicate one. Unlike the role of the US First Lady, it has no formal place in our political system, yet the duties can be heavy.
A partner to the premier is expected not only to be a comforter and adviser behind the scenes, but also a host, diplomat, social manager and advocate in the glare of the public spotlight.
In the first months after Rishi Sunak entered Downing Street last October, his wife Akshata Murty appeared to shy away from attention.
Essentially a rather reserved person, her natural diffidence was exacerbated by controversies over her personal wealth as the daughter of an Indian billionaire.
But over recent weeks, a new Downing Street consort has emerged, brimming with confidence and style.
Gone is the slightly anxious figure
looking over her shoulder as she hurried inside Number 10. In her place is a self-assured trendsetter who is an asset to both her husband and to Britain.
Ms Murty’s growth into celebrity companion has been on full display this week as she accompanied her husband to the G7 summit in Japan.
It was her first official overseas trip since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister but she showed no hint of awkwardness under pressure.
On the contrary, she had fashion editors extolling her chic wardrobe choices, just as she seems to have charmed the other spouses.
Among them was the American President’s wife Jill Biden, with whom she has already forged a strong bond.
Ms Biden was a key guest at the Coronation, not only attending the service at Westminster Abbey, but also taking part in a Downing Street lunch party for volunteers and campaigners.
That event again showed Ms Murty at her best. As hostess for the lunch, she brought charm, modesty, warmth and generosity to the memorable occasion, the same qualities that she shows in the receptions that she and her husband hold at their home in his Yorkshire constituency. “She mixes with everybody and eve
rybody speaks highly of her. There is no ostentatiousness,” says Peter Walker, a local party member and former Deputy Chief Constable.
The Prime Minister said of his wife in an interview with Piers Morgan: “Yes, I definitely am batting above my average.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do this job without her love and support.”
In an elegant blue dress, Ms Murty was one of the stars of the Coronation ceremony itself and, as befits a former designer who used to run her own company, she has attracted widespread praise for her outfits.
“Not since Margaret Thatcher ruled Downing Street in a series of tweed twin sets and pearl necklaces has British politics been so tasteful,” declares the style bible Tatler magazine.
Yet, as with her self-confidence, Ms Murty’s approach has undergone a recent
change. In a laudable effort to be more accessible, given Britain’s cost-of-living crisis, she has increasingly traded designer clothes for high street labels, in accordance with the advice of her newly appointed public relations guru Isabel Spearman, who used to work for Samantha Cameron.
Whether she is serving lunch at a club for the elderly in west London or promoting a children’s initiative at the British Library, Ms Murty now brings commitment as well as grace to our civic life.
Yet when her husband first rose to the top, it seemed that, however unfairly, she might be a liability to him because, as an Indian citizen, she held non-domiciled status.
She therefore did not have to pay British taxes on the vast wealth she derived from colossal fortune created by her father NR Narayana Murthy, the founder of the global technology giant INFOSYS. Eager to portray the Sunaks as “out of touch”, Labour sought make political capital out of the affair. But, whatever the initial embarrassment, it did not have the destructive impact that the party hoped. This was partly because Ms Murty gave up her non-dom status and started to pay British taxes, and partly because there was also a perceived injustice about attacking a woman who had never stood for public office or been a political campaigner. On a deeper level, the British public have never gone in for the Marxist politics of envy. Far from being despised for his riches, Mr Sunak tends to be admired for his talent and ambition. He is also seen as an inspirational role model and political pioneer who fought his way up from a modest background in Southampton as the son of a local GP and pharmacist, to become the country’s first leader of Asian heritage.
If he married well, then for most people, outside the ideological fortress of socialism, that should be a cause for respect, not condemnation.
Both formidably bright, they met and fell in love at the USA’s Stanford University in 2004. Almost two decades later, they are said to be worth £529million, with properties in London, Yorkshire and California.
Instead of wallowing in their immense affluence, they have decided to devote themselves to public service.Throughout the history of our democracy, many of our greatto est leaders have been reliant on their spouses. Mrs Thatcher always said that she would never have got so far without the loyal, acerbic Denis by her side.
Similarly, Clementine Churchill was Winston’s most devoted ally, while Violet Attlee was essential to Clement’s success, epitomised by her faithfully driving him around during election campaigns.
It is perhaps telling that several of the most ineffectual or neurotic Prime Ministers, including Ted Heath, Lord Rosebery and Arthur Balfour, were bachelors or widowers.
In the same vein, Ms Murty’s support has been vital for Rishi advancement.
This week her mother Sudha, an engineer who was instrumental in helping her husband create the INFOSYS empire, said, “My daughter has managed to make her husband Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.”
It was only a slight – and forgivable – piece of maternal exaggeration.
‘Ms Murty was one of the stars of the Coronation ceremony and attracted praise for her outfits’