From “who colonised who” jokes on TikTok to Britain having its ‘Obama Moment’, many have praised the unelected success of Rishi Sunak. A Lincoln College graduate, Britain’s youngest Prime Minister graduated with First Class Honours in 2001.
Born to Indian-Tanzanian parents, Rishi Sunak is also the UK’s first Prime Minister of colour. On a superficial level, we can see Britain as a force of ‘change’ and progression given his new position. However, others strongly feel that this is a perpetuation of the “Model Minority Myth”.
Meticulously masked as positive representation, the model minority myth is a stereotype turned cultural expectation that stresses a specific group of people of colour to be ‘overachievers’. A double-edged sword, this definition inherently perpetuates white supremacy because of the division it causes between other members of the global majority. Under the context of Rishi Sunak, it will be unfortunate to see that many will look up to him as a leader that is reflective of their values, and customs. But, given that he has consistently voted for stronger enforcement of immigration rules and remains silent on the enshrinement of gay rights, how will Rishi Sunak “unite our country, not with words, but with action”?
I will not, nor cannot, punish Sunak for being afforded multitudes of opportunities, social capital, and social mobility. In fact, we both attend the same college, with my matriculation occurring twenty years after his graduation. Funnily enough, I had to overcome huge class barriers, from the state-comp schools of Streatham, London to get to where I am now. Yet, through Winchester, Sunak and I arrived at the same destination. This is not to discredit how hard his parents worked, mine did the same from DR Congo and Angola. Many people should have resonated with “Ready for Rishi”, described as a “grass-roots” campaign, it uses similar terminology that I would use to describe my own campaign, Choked Up. Rishi’s campaign revolved around the hardships that his parents took on to live and work in the United Kingdom. A campaign on pride and identity.
However, Sunak’s views could not be further removed from people of colour if he tried. Black and brown culture generally thrives because of its emphasis on collectivism, unconditional love, the product of an overall lack of greed. With a net worth higher than King Charles, Rishi Sunak’s billionaire wealth comes at the upmost human cost. There is no morality in becoming a millionaire, almost billionaire. With that, many have seen Sunak’s rise to pretentiousness, from flexing about not having working class friends, to the insidious comments about his pride in taking public money out of “deprived urban areas”. These so-called “flexes” are immoral. His associates are no better, such as with the reappointment of pantomime villain Suella Braverman, who said it is her “dream” and “obsession” to see asylum seekers take flight to Rwanda. The people you socialise with are a reflection of yourself, and sadly, Sunak’s associates are running the country. It’s safe to say that I am nothing short of terrified for the fate of the UK.
I’ll give it to Sunak, he’s a competent speaker. He preaches about honesty and awareness of the difficulties this country faces, but how true is he to his word? Upon speaking on his first Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, his actions could not have been louder. A reverse Robin Hood, austerity was at its highest when he was the country’s Treasurer (Chancellor of the Exchequer) during the pandemic. In September 2020, Sunak confirmed that £12 billion of our public money was to be invested into a track-and-trace system that did not work. The ripple effect of that meant Serco was predicted to make a £165 million profit in 2020 at the cost of over 600,000 people dying of the virus in England and Wales that year.
One thing I worry about is how the global majority are viewed as homogenous and agents of blame. It is troubling to see that those furthest ‘right’ in the Conservative Party are people of colour, which again, comes at the internal battle of appeasing the elite. However, such safety within this status is conditional. Not even a month ago, given the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng after having followed suit with Liz Truss’ policies. What worries me the most is seeing the impending legacy of Sunak, which will be riddled with scapegoating due to the current political and financial climate of this country. Thus, the ripples of the model minority myth circle back into backlash. I very much doubt that the Prime Minister will make substantial changes to this country because his intentions were never to enshrine the rights of those who need the most liberating. Instead, he aims to ensure that he and his cabinet are never threatened by the thought of equality. To those living in extreme privilege, the concept of taking down age-old systems of tyranny is threatening, because, to them, equality feels like oppression.