Britain has pulled back from the brink. And it has Boris Johnson to thank. Rocking up at the eleventh hour armed only with patented buffoonery and natural hubris was sufficient to thwart the mother of all comebacks. Had this not happened, the country might have — in a deliciously ironic twist — risked a state of emergency; suspension from the Commonwealth; while everyone and their cat appealed to the Pakistan Army to sweep in and secure the WMDs of this rapidly failing nuclear-armed state.
But no.
The latest round of musical chairs has delivered a clear winner. Rishi Sunak is the man of the moment and at first glance it looks like a win. The former chancellor of the Exchequer has become Britain’s first BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) Prime Minister. He will likely take oath on the sacred Hindu text, Bhagavad Gita. Two welcome firsts that have been described as short-changed payback for colonialism.
This is misplaced.
Having produced all three British women heads of government, the timing was right for the ruling Conservatives to proffer a PM of colour. Yet as every man, woman and cat will readily admit — this remains no small feat and Rishi deserves his place in history. But that is where the celebrations must end. After all, the man who might still woo Larry the Cat with caviar and lobster was part of the Bojo circus that not only lied to the citizenry during lockdown but also broke its own rules. And there was that not un-small matter of Mr Sunak infamously admitting to redirecting crucial funding from deprived urban centres to well-to-do towns. Maybe this is what happens when the gentrified classes grow up without making working-class friends. Unlike a certain chief mouser to the Cabinet who paid his dues at a local shelter.
Naturally, there should have been a general election. Five premiers in six years — including three selected over the last eight weeks — doesn’t look good. It’s rather akin to supporting those pesky Middle East autocracies or, worse, Putin’s despotism. Isn’t that what the Brits always preach to others? Yet Rishi has ruled out ballot-boxing. Perhaps with good reason. For, the country had endured three polls in just four years. Each one costing the national exchequer dear; though not as much as when Corbyn closed in on the True Blues while the Maybot lost her majority.
Pundits are already describing Rishi as the country’s most market-literate PM. Which is a relief considering the purse stings were his to hold for two years. Though that other chancellor-turned-premier — the dour Gordy — reluctantly confessed back in 2009 that he had failed see the country’s deepest recession since World War II hurtling towards him. Thereby moving then leader of the opposition, David Cameron, to warn that an IMF bailout might be the only salvation. That didn’t happen and instead he prepared for a decade of austerity measures by shaking things up and reinventing the Tories as the diversity party. It worked. In 2010, the would-be pig farmer lorded over just one black and one Asian MP. Within a decade, 22 ethnic minority lawmakers had entered the fold.
No matter that half of all Labour MPs are women and some 20 percent are people of colour. In the public imagination it remains the party that favours white men on top. As such, the antagonists have lost the optic war while the Tories continue to fill high profile positions with non-white faces, including that of Home Secretary; Foreign Secretary; Chancellor; and party Chairman. Clearly, none of this automatically translates into policy safeguards for minority communities. Successive Conservative governments have overseen Windrush deportations and the effective renditioning of asylum seekers to Rwanda; with Rishi wholeheartedly supporting the latter when he first threw his hat into the leadership ring in the summer. This speaks of untold brown-washing of a racist and xenophobic agenda. It also represents an extension of Thatcher’s legacy that saw the first female PM promote just one woman to her cabinet during her 11-year iron grip on power.
Rishi, who backed Leave all the way, also pledged to make Britain the richest European nation in the next 15 years. Unfortunately, like those before him, he appears to believe that EU laws are singlehandedly responsible for sluggish economic growth; whereas the Office for Budget Responsibility last year warned that the Brexit fallout was negatively impacting GDP more than COVID. This doesn’t bode well and suggests that pro-poor polices will not be on the cards anytime soon. Indeed, with a combined marital fortune of £730 million, Rishi is the wealthiest premier in British history. His background in high finance — including as a Goldman Sachs analyst and hedge fund manager — has prompted fears that oligarchical control is now complete.
In the absence of the democratic process and commitment to universal suffrage, the best outcome is avoiding further collisions with the Bank of England. Inflation currently rests at just over 10 percent — a 40-year record high. London is in the midst of a chronic cost of living crisis that has left at least one food charity launching an emergency appeal. And now both gas and electricity loadshedding loom large. Instead of asking if Britain is Ready for Rishi — the people must ponder whether he is well-equipped to steer the country through troubled waters. If not, Larry will be the last Cat standing. Again.
Miranda Husain is a senior journalist and has worked as Deputy Managing Editor at Daily Times, Features Editor at The Friday Times (TFT) and Deputy Editor at Newsweek Pakistan. She writes on local and international politics; race and identity; and cats! She can be reached at mirandahusain@me.com and tweets @humeiwei
But no.
The latest round of musical chairs has delivered a clear winner. Rishi Sunak is the man of the moment and at first glance it looks like a win. The former chancellor of the Exchequer has become Britain’s first BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) Prime Minister. He will likely take oath on the sacred Hindu text, Bhagavad Gita. Two welcome firsts that have been described as short-changed payback for colonialism.
This is misplaced.
Having produced all three British women heads of government, the timing was right for the ruling Conservatives to proffer a PM of colour. Yet as every man, woman and cat will readily admit — this remains no small feat and Rishi deserves his place in history. But that is where the celebrations must end. After all, the man who might still woo Larry the Cat with caviar and lobster was part of the Bojo circus that not only lied to the citizenry during lockdown but also broke its own rules. And there was that not un-small matter of Mr Sunak infamously admitting to redirecting crucial funding from deprived urban centres to well-to-do towns. Maybe this is what happens when the gentrified classes grow up without making working-class friends. Unlike a certain chief mouser to the Cabinet who paid his dues at a local shelter.
Naturally, there should have been a general election. Five premiers in six years — including three selected over the last eight weeks — doesn’t look good. It’s rather akin to supporting those pesky Middle East autocracies or, worse, Putin’s despotism. Isn’t that what the Brits always preach to others? Yet Rishi has ruled out ballot-boxing. Perhaps with good reason. For, the country had endured three polls in just four years. Each one costing the national exchequer dear; though not as much as when Corbyn closed in on the True Blues while the Maybot lost her majority.
Pundits are already describing Rishi as the country’s most market-literate PM. Which is a relief considering the purse stings were his to hold for two years. Though that other chancellor-turned-premier — the dour Gordy — reluctantly confessed back in 2009 that he had failed see the country’s deepest recession since World War II hurtling towards him. Thereby moving then leader of the opposition, David Cameron, to warn that an IMF bailout might be the only salvation. That didn’t happen and instead he prepared for a decade of austerity measures by shaking things up and reinventing the Tories as the diversity party. It worked. In 2010, the would-be pig farmer lorded over just one black and one Asian MP. Within a decade, 22 ethnic minority lawmakers had entered the fold.
No matter that half of all Labour MPs are women and some 20 percent are people of colour. In the public imagination it remains the party that favours white men on top. As such, the antagonists have lost the optic war while the Tories continue to fill high profile positions with non-white faces, including that of Home Secretary; Foreign Secretary; Chancellor; and party Chairman. Clearly, none of this automatically translates into policy safeguards for minority communities. Successive Conservative governments have overseen Windrush deportations and the effective renditioning of asylum seekers to Rwanda; with Rishi wholeheartedly supporting the latter when he first threw his hat into the leadership ring in the summer. This speaks of untold brown-washing of a racist and xenophobic agenda. It also represents an extension of Thatcher’s legacy that saw the first female PM promote just one woman to her cabinet during her 11-year iron grip on power.
Rishi, who backed Leave all the way, also pledged to make Britain the richest European nation in the next 15 years. Unfortunately, like those before him, he appears to believe that EU laws are singlehandedly responsible for sluggish economic growth; whereas the Office for Budget Responsibility last year warned that the Brexit fallout was negatively impacting GDP more than COVID. This doesn’t bode well and suggests that pro-poor polices will not be on the cards anytime soon. Indeed, with a combined marital fortune of £730 million, Rishi is the wealthiest premier in British history. His background in high finance — including as a Goldman Sachs analyst and hedge fund manager — has prompted fears that oligarchical control is now complete.
In the absence of the democratic process and commitment to universal suffrage, the best outcome is avoiding further collisions with the Bank of England. Inflation currently rests at just over 10 percent — a 40-year record high. London is in the midst of a chronic cost of living crisis that has left at least one food charity launching an emergency appeal. And now both gas and electricity loadshedding loom large. Instead of asking if Britain is Ready for Rishi — the people must ponder whether he is well-equipped to steer the country through troubled waters. If not, Larry will be the last Cat standing. Again.
Miranda Husain is a senior journalist and has worked as Deputy Managing Editor at Daily Times, Features Editor at The Friday Times (TFT) and Deputy Editor at Newsweek Pakistan. She writes on local and international politics; race and identity; and cats! She can be reached at mirandahusain@me.com and tweets @humeiwei