Race not a factor in members’ vote, says Sunak
FORMER chancellor Rishi Sunak said last Sunday (31) that racism was not a factor in the Conservative party membership’s vote for the new leader and Britain’s next prime minister.
Sunak, 42, is trailing his opponent, foreign secretary Liz Truss, in surveys during the leadership campaign that will conclude on September 5.
Lord Rami Ranger, a Conservative party donor, said last week in a video that Britain would be seen as racist if Sunak goes on to lose the leadership election.
“I absolutely don’t think that’s a factor in anyone’s decision. I just don’t think that’s right,” Sunak told the Sunday Telegraph. “I was selected as a member of parliament in Richmond…
“Our members rightly put merit above everything else. I’m sure when they are considering this question, they are just figuring out who is the best person to be prime minister… Gender, ethnicity and everything else will have nothing to do with it,” said the Tory MP for Richmond in Yorkshire.
Postal ballots will be sent out to Tory members this week. Sunak acknowledged he was playing “catch-up” to Truss in the race as he continues his campaign tour of the UK to win Conservative party members’ votes.
“It wasn’t that long ago, the commentary was I wouldn’t even have been a part of this contest,” he pointed out, in reference to the criticism earlier this year against his wife Akshata Murty’s tax status.
“I think I can build a country where the defining characteristics of our society are hard work, aspiration and hope; a society where a world-class education is the birth right of every child; a society where we lead the world in standards of decency and integrity; and a society where we’re really proud of our history and our traditions, but we’re really confident about our future.
“You don’t hear as much about that because everyone wants to focus on a very narrow conversation,” he said, alluding to his disappointment at tax cuts being the dominant issue in the race.
As part of his reform plans for the NHS if he wins the election, Sunak said he would impose a temporary £10 fine for patients who fail to attend a GP or outpatient appointment without providing sufficient notice to allow the surgery or hospital to offer the slot to another patient.
Sunak said the first time a patient misses an appointment, they will be given “the benefit of the doubt”, but subsequent missed appointments will incur charges of £10 each time.
“We’re already paying for appointments. If
they’re not being used, then that’s a waste. So if we can change that, then we basically get more out of the money that we’re putting in today. It’s a good example of a Conservative approach
to that problem,” he told the paper.
During interactions with Tory members on the campaign trail, he was urged by supporters not to give up even though he was the “underdog” in the race. “I’m fighting for the values I believe in. I’m fighting for the things that I think are right for our country. And I’m not going to stop,” he reassured one supporter.