Rishi Sunak yields to the inevitable
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has “yielded to the inevitable in stages”, says Isabel Hardman in The Spectator. First, he announced that his wealthy wife, Akshata Murthy, who is an Indian citizen, will pay UK tax on her overseas income after all. Then he referred himself to Christopher Geidt, the independent ethics chief, who will investigate whether Sunak declared all his interests – including the fact that he has a green card that puts him on a potential path to US citizenship – in line with the rules. But the political damage may already be done. Sunak has been “tarnished” by the revelations and he seems now a less likely successor to Boris Johnson than he did just weeks ago. This puts the party’s prospects of a fifth term in power in jeopardy.
Senior Tories are worried that the scandal may also affect the outcome of local elections in May, say Jim Pickard, Sebastian Payne and Jasmine CameronChileshe in the Financial Times. The party was already braced for losses due to the cost of living crisis and the revelations about Downing Street parties in lockdown. Sunak’s mishandling of this row will not help.
Most people will have no problem with the fact that Sunak and his family are very rich, says Juliet Samuel in The Daily Telegraph, or even with their avoiding tax, if the system allows them to. But the “sight of a chancellor and his wife claiming that they have a completely different relationship to this country, an arrangement that conveniently allowed them to wield great political power while paying minimal tax”, is hard to stomach. Sunak could draw a line under it all, though, by making a full disclosure of all his and his wife’s financial interests, including the use of offshore tax havens, says The Times. At a time when Sunak is increasing the tax burden, the public have a right to know whether those taking the decisions are paying their share. Sunak must accept that such scrutiny is “the price to be paid for the privilege of high office”.