Page 20 - Rishi Sunak

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak much more liked than UK governing party: Poll

One month on since Rishi Sunak took charge as Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister, indications on Friday are that his popularity with the UK electorate remains on stronger ground than that of the governing Conservative Party. The 42-year-old former chancellor had pitched himself as a steady hand to steer the country's economy through a tumultuous cost-of-living crisis in the wake of the COVID pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With predecessor Liz Truss making the dubious history of being Britain's shortest incumbent at 10 Downing Street after a disastrous unfunded mini-budget, his message of clamping down on inflation on a war footing seems to have inspired faith in his leadership. According to the "November Ipsos Political Monitor", a survey conducted earlier this month, Sunak started his premiership relatively liked and even overtook Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer for having what it takes to be a good Prime Minister. However, the opinion poll also fo

UK PM Sunak, wife Akshata Murty figure on 'Asian Rich List 2022' in UK

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have made their debut on the UK's 'Asian Rich List 2022' topped by the Hinduja family. Sunak and his wife, whose father N R Narayana Murthy co-founded Indian IT major Infosys, are ranked 17th on the list, with an estimated wealth of 790 million pounds. The combined wealth of this year's list sits at 113.2 billion pounds, an increase of 13.5 billion pounds over that of last year. The list is topped by the Hinduja family for the eighth consecutive time with an estimated wealth of 30.5 billion pounds, an increase of 3 billion pounds from the last year. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan presented a copy of the 'Asian Rich List 2022' to Ritu Chhabria, daughter of Gopichand Hinduja, Co-Chairman of the Hinduja Group at the 24th annual Asian Business Awards at the Westminster Park Plaza hotel on Wednesday night. Hinduja Group is an Indian transnational conglomerate. The group is present in eleven sectors. Addressing the gathering, C

UK PM Rishi Sunak unveils new scheme for world's 100 most talented in AI

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a new scheme for the world's 100 most talented young professionals in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of his vision to make the UK a "beacon" to attract the brightest and best from around the world. Addressing the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Birmingham, Sunak told an audience of business chiefs and professionals that control over the country's post-Brexit immigration policy remains crucial. However, he pledged to create one of the world's most attractive visa regimes for entrepreneurs and highly skilled people and make use of the Brexit freedoms to strike trade deals with "the world's fastest-growing economies". The UK is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, which Sunak has previously told Parliament he wants to get done as quickly as possible. We cannot allow the world's top AI talent to be drawn to America or China, said Sunak. That's why, building o

At G20 summit, Xi Jinping forgoes chance to improve ties with world leaders

Chinese President Xi Jinping's conversation with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau went viral and his meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was cancelled

Rishi Sunak announces air defence package for Ukraine on first Kyiv visit

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced an air defence package worth £50 million for Ukraine. He made the announcement during his first trip to Kyiv since assuming office on November 19

Rishi Sunak makes first visit to war-torn Ukraine, meets Prez Zelenskyy

Rishi Sunak described as deeply humbling his first visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Saturday since taking charge as British Prime Minister and pledged to bolster the UK's support in the country's ongoing conflict with Russia. Meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sunak confirmed that Britain will provide a major new package of air defence to help protect Ukrainian civilians and critical national infrastructure from an intense barrage of Russian strikes. The GBP 50 million package of defence aid comprises 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones, including dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capability. It follows more than 1,000 new anti-air missiles announced by the UK's Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, earlier this month. It is deeply humbling to be in Kyiv today and to have the opportunity to meet those who are doing so much, and paying so high a price, to defend the principles of sovereignty and democracy, said Sunak,

Committed to working quickly on UK-India free trade agreement: Rishi Sunak

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. I discussed the free trade agreement with India, and both the Prime Minister of India and I committed our teams to working as quickly as possible to see if we can bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations, said Sunak. Without negotiating all these things in publ

Sunak shares list of activity on G20's last day, thanks Modi for wishes

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday shared his hectic activity meeting world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and others

Latest LIVE updates: Earthquake of 4.1 magnitude hits Himachal Pradesh

Catch all the live updates from across the globe here

Sunak greenlights 3,000 UK visas for Indians hours after meeting PM Modi

The British government said India is the first visa-national country to benefit from such a scheme, highlighting the strength of the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership agreed last year.

Rishi Sunak won't sacrifice quality for speed on UK-India trade deal

Britain has completed most of the sections of a free trade agreement with India, Trade Minister Greg Hands said last month.

India trade deal offers biggest hope for UK economy heading for a crisis

It has been anything but a smooth ride for the Rishi Sunak led UK government, with the latest official data released this week reflecting a shrinking economy and a looming two-year-long recession. The British Indian former finance minister, who took charge at 10 Downing Street last month with the promise to fix the fiscal errors of predecessor Liz Truss' disastrous mini-budget, has pledged to get a grip on the soaring inflation as a priority and warned of tough tax and spending decisions ahead. Economic experts agree on the massive scale of the challenge, even as they hold out the prospect of a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as a potential generator of much-needed economic growth. The economic crisis in the UK is caused by some new and some longstanding factors, explains Dr Anna Valero, Senior Policy Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) Centre for Economic Performance. High inflation, high interest rates and tightening fiscal policy occurs against the backdrop of .

UK PM Rishi Sunak sets off for G20 with pledge to call out Russia

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to "call out Putin's regime" at this year's G20 over the Russia-Ukraine conflict as he leaves for Indonesia for the annual summit on Sunday. The Group of 20 (G20) of the world's biggest economies will bring together world leaders, where Sunak is expected to hold his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since taking charge as the UK's first Indian-origin Prime Minister last month. India's year-long presidency of the G20 will kick off from December 1. "(Vladimir) Putin's war has caused devastation around the world destroying lives and plunging the international economy into turmoil, said Sunak in a statement before setting off for Bali. "This G20 summit will not be business as usual. We will call out Putin's regime, and lay bare their utter contempt for the kind of international cooperation and respect for sovereignty forums like the G20 represent. In clear contrast to Putin's disruption, the UK and our allies will work toget

United Kingdom, India need each other now more than ever: Boris Johnson

Ties between the United Kingdom and India will remain on a "phenomenal upward trajectory" under Indian-origin UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, that country's former premier Boris Johnson said on Saturday. The two countries need each other now more than ever as "we live in dangerous and turbulent times", he said. Johnson also called on the two countries to finalise a free trade agreement, saying he could not wait till next Diwali for it. "No mission that I have led has been as successful as the one in April this year when I arrived in Gujarat and was greeted like Sachin Tendulkar. There were pictures of me everywhere and literally thousands of people dancing on the streets," Johnson said in his address at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here. Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he had discussed the future of India-UK partnership during his India visit, Johnson said they had "fantastic talks" and there have been results. "India has become the number one supplier of over

Zelensky, UK PM Sunak discuss defence support for Ukraine amid war

In a phone call, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed "multifaceted defence support" for Kiev

British PM Rishi Sunak seeks thawed relations at UK-Ireland summit

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is aiming to repair frayed relations with Britain's European Union neighbours and with highly skeptical leaders in Scotland and Wales when he attends a summit of leaders from across the UK and Ireland on Thursday. It's the first time since 2007 that a UK leader has gone to the British Irish Council, which brings together government representatives from the UK, Ireland and semi-autonomous administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Self-governing British dependencies the Channel Islands and Isle of Man are also represented at the council, which was set up after Northern Ireland's 1998 peace agreement. Sunak's office said he would urge political leaders to be pragmatic and work together in our shared interests. Let's deliver for all our people across these great islands and build a future defined not by division, but by unity and hope, he said. It's a marked change of tone if not yet of substance from Britain's Conservative government. Su

Best of BS Opinion: Another lotus blooms, a fresh beginning and more

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Britain and Rishi Sunak

The new PM faces unenviable challenges ahead, but he is a testament to the progress Britain has made towards becoming a multi-racial society

UK PM Rishi Sunak under pressure as minister resigns amid bullying row

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was under pressure from the Opposition on Wednesday as he expressed regret on appointing one of his close allies and embattled ministers who was forced to resign pending an investigation into allegations of bullying against him. Sir Gavin Williamson is accused of abusive behaviour towards fellow Conservative Party colleagues and civil servants and denies any wrongdoing. However, after days of rows over what Sunak knew about the allegations before appointing him as a minister without portfolio to his Cabinet, Williamson stepped down on Tuesday night. The Opposition has branded the episode as a sign of "poor judgement and leadership" by Sunak and Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer used the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons to pile on further pressure over the issue. "I obviously regret it for the record, I did not know about any of the specific concerns," Sunak said, when asked by Starmer if he regrets appointing ...

Senior member of Rishi Sunak's govt resigns amid bullying allegations

A senior member of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government announced his resignation Tuesday night after mounting allegations that he bullied colleagues. Gavin Williamson announced his resignation as minister of state without portfolio in letter posted on Twitter, four days after the Times of London published expletive-laden text messages he sent to another member of Parliament. After that, a senior civil servant alleged that Williamson subjected them to sustained bullying, telling the individual to slit your throat on one occasion and jump out of the window" on another. In his resignation letter, Williamson said he had apologized for the text messages and was cooperating with an investigation of that conduct. But he rejected suggestions that the second incident involved bullying. I refute the characterization of these claims, but I recognize these are becoming a distraction for the good work this government is doing for the British people,'' Williamson wrote. I have therefore deci