Former chancellor Rishi Sunak convincingly won over an audience of Conservative Party members in a head-to-head television debate with rival Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in the leadership contest to elect a new Tory party leader and British prime minister.
Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning before she makes her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch.
Artist Ciaran Gallagher painted a mural depicting Britain's Conservative leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in the Belfast city centre.
Sudha and Akshata Murthy's candid confessions about each other.
Akshata Murty, the wife of Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, stands to earn Rs 68.17 crore in dividend income from her shareholding in India's second-largest IT firm Infosys. Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, held 3.89 crore shares of Infosys at the end of December, according to company filings with the stock exchanges. Infosys declared a final dividend of Rs 17.50 per share for FY23 (April 2022 to March 2023).
There was no clear winner between former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday after the UK's prime ministerial candidates went head-to-head in their first television debate as finalists and clashed fiercely on their economic policies and tax plans.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK government remains committed to working "as quickly as possible" towards a successful conclusion to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, as the majority of the substantive negotiation conversations were completed at the end of last month. At a House of Commons session on the G20 Summit in Indonesia on Thursday, the British Indian leader updated Parliament that he reviewed progress on the FTA during his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since taking charge at 10 Downing Street. He was questioned by Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer and his own Conservative Party MPs on the timeline for the completion of the agreement with India.
It was their first conversation since Indian-origin Sunak took charge as British prime minister on Tuesday.
"Of course, we do not tolerate persecution anywhere, but I am not sure that I agree at all with the characterisation that the hon. gentleman has put forward," the British prime minister said.
Rishi Sunak on Monday is all set to make history on Diwali as Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party, following Penny Mordaunt's withdrawal from the race.
With the former prime minister stepping aside on Sunday night saying it was "simply not the right time" for his comeback, the prospect of a Diwali victory for Sunak cannot be ruled out.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the strategic Indo-Pacific region and standing up to competitors with "robust pragmatism". Delivering his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet on Monday evening, the British Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world. He also pledged to "do things differently" far removed from the so-called "golden era" with China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests.
The poll found that among those who voted for the Conservatives at the last election, 62 per cent said that party members had made the wrong choice when the race was shortlisted between Truss and Sunak.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday green lit a new youth mobility partnership scheme that will offer 3,000 visas to 18-30-year-old degree-educated Indians every year to live and work in the United Kingdom for up to two years.
Rishi Sunak, one of the finalists in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative party and Britain's prime minister, is campaigning hard to win over the Tory faithful who will vote from today, July 28, to August 31 to elect their next leader.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made a clear break with the past on UK-China relations as he declared that the "so-called golden era" of bilateral ties is over in the face of the "systemic challenge" posed by the Chinese regime to British values and interests.
Britain's prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak has said he wants to change the UK-India relationship to make it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India.
The 42-year-old frontrunner's tally continues to grow as former prime minister Boris Johnson flies back from his Caribbean holiday to reportedly also join the contest.
The crux of the UK prime ministerial frontrunner Rishi Sunak's message was around honesty as he clashed with his four remaining rivals in the first televised debate of the race to replace Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader.
In a letter published in the Kyiv Post, Rishi had said that he will be a lifelong friend and help Ukraine rebuild into a prosperous, ambitious and forward-looking country.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday extended her bookmaker odds as the favourite to win the Conservative Party leadership race, with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak also trailing in a poll among Tory voters.
Rishi Sunak, who is set to be Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister, recently said that he wants to change the United Kingdom-India relationship to make it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India.
The video shows the 42-year-old British Indian former minister interacting with voters and is also seen catching a quick power nap on a bench as a voiceover praises his efforts to "fight for every inch".
The dramatic moves of Donald Trump, which have shaken up the global order, dominated the discussion. A sense of bewilderment prevailed, but there was also expectation that President Trump would settle down to a more traditional style of governance after a time of shock and awe, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, an attendee at literary festivals in Calicut, Jaipur, Kochi, Sharjah and Thiruvanathapuram.
Rishi Sunak has revealed that his former boss, Boris Johnson, has not returned any of his messages and calls since he resigned from his cabinet as chancellor, implying tension between the duo as the British Indian former minister battles it out in a tough race to be elected the next leader of the UK's governing Conservative Party.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has written to his boss, Boris Johnson, to be referred to one of the British Prime Minister's independent advisers to review all his ministerial declarations of interest amid a row around his family's tax affairs. The Indian-origin finance minister, who has been fighting back attacks over wife Akshata Murty's tax arrangements in India and also Opposition allegations around his own finances, said in a Twitter post on Sunday that he is confident the independent review by House of Lords peer Christopher Geidt, the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests, will provide "further clarity". "My overriding concern is that the public retains confidence in the answers they are given and I believe the best way of achieving this is to ensure those answers are entirely independent, without bias or favour," Sunak states in his letter to Johnson.
While Sunak has maintained a dignified silence over the recent crisis, his supporters have not lost any opportunity to point out how the former finance minister had got the economic forecasts right.
In an accompanying vision statement, the former finance minister highlighted his track record of serving in the Cabinet, helping to steer the economy through the toughest of times with the COVID pandemic.
China represents the "largest threat" to Britain and the world's security and prosperity this century and there is evidence to suggest it has targeted countries from the US to India, UK prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak said on Monday.
Britain goes to the polls today and Rishi's Conservative party is expected to be whalloped by the Labour party, which is expected to romp away to a historical victory, winning the most seats in the House of Commons since 1832.
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended his lead in the United Kingdom prime ministerial race on Wednesday with the highest number of votes at 88 in the first round of voting by Conservative Party MPs, which narrowed down the race from eight to six candidates on the shortlist.
Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, held 3.89 crore shares, or 0.93 per cent, of Infosys at the end of September, according to company filings with the stock exchanges.
If elected, 42-year-old Sunak will go on to make history as the first Prime Minister of the UK of Indian heritage.
Some British Hindus have taken to social media to voice their objections over a lack of proper consultation ahead of a Diwali reception hosted by Prime Minister Keir Stramer at 10 Downing Street in London, where reportedly non-vegetarian snacks and alcohol were included on the menu.
The Cabinet minister pulled out of the interview hours before it was to air on Tuesday evening, with her team saying she could no longer spare the time.
The 42-year-old is holding a solid 55 per cent lead with the Oddschecker betting odds aggregator, followed by a 29 per cent chance of former prime minister Boris Johnson making a comeback. Third placed in what is emerging as a three-way contest is Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, who had polled third in the first round of parliamentary votes to shortlist candidates for the last leadership race.
Former UK chancellor Rishi Sunak is closing the gap to catch up with rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in the race to 10 Downing Street, with only five points separating the two in a latest poll of the Conservative Party members on Tuesday.
Her intervention comes just days after her dramatic exit from Cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code and a scathing attack on Truss' leadership.
One of the most forceful points Rishi raised during the debate was the rise of an inimical China, and how Britain must be prepared to deal with Xi Jinping's Beijing regime.
As Boris Johnson's "partygate" troubles mount and members of his own Conservative Party demand he step down as the British prime minister, one name is doing the rounds as a frontrunner to take charge -- his Indian-origin chancellor and Downing Street neighbour Rishi Sunak.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances