By: John Elliott
The days of Britain having a prime minister of Indian origin are almost over, for several years at least. Rishi Sunak declared on May 22 that there will be a general election on July 4, several months earlier than had been expected. There is little prospect of his Conservative Party being re-elected. Indeed, the chances of Sunak winning are no more likely than Narendra Modi doing seriously badly in India’s current election.
Sunak may not lose as disastrously as most pundits are forecasting, with his party being virtually wiped out, and Modi may not win as overwhelmingly as seemed likely, but the results are as certain as can be, and Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, can expect to become prime minister on July 5.
Sunak stood in pouring rain in Downing Street to announce that he was calling the election. His speech was heavily focused on the economy and security at “this most uncertain of times.” The visual image was spoiled by Sunak being drenched in the rain and the audio by the sounds of a Labour Party song being loudly played at the end of the street…