Is UK leader Rishi Sunak too rich to rule in tough times?
As he makes tough decisions to stem Britain’s economic crisis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he will “always protect the most vulnerable.”
LONDON (AP) — As he makes tough decisions to stem Britain’s economic crisis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he will “always protect the most vulnerable.”
But the U.K.’s first prime minister of color is also its richest-ever leader — an ex-banker who once wore Prada loafers to visit a construction site and whose family fortune is estimated at 730 million pounds ($826 million).
Critics question whether Sunak can understand the desperation many in Britain feel as the economy staggers under the combined weight of COVID-19, Brexit, the Ukraine war and the backfiring policies of departed Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Sunak, who took office Tuesday, is considering whether to trim state pension and welfare benefits to help cut billions from the Treasury's bill. Meanwhile, inflation has hit a 40-year high of 10.1%, and the cost of everyday items has gone up even more — pasta by 60%, tea by 46%, bread by 38% in the past year, according to government figures.
