After decades of white Prime Ministers in office, we have now encountered a change: the first Prime Minister of colour in the history of the UK, Rishi Sunak.
This is a significant move towards normalising diversity within the executive to reflect our multicultural society. The UK has undeniably made progress in this arena, evidenced by the most diverse cabinet recorded in 2019 under Johnson’s premiership, a record subsequently broken by Truss’ – albeit short-lived – cabinet in 2022. But what does this mean for the public?
Specifically for people like me?
I am a Muslim girl of Pakistani heritage currently studying politics at university which makes me a minority. Seeing the lack of diversity in my course ignites the belief that politics is not for me when this is not true.
Therefore, Sunak’s appointment matters; we are truly beginning to diversify politics and end its perception as a white-dominated field. Perhaps this will bring more POC (people of colour) into politics to allow ethnic descriptive representation to take full force.
However, to what extent does Sunak represent ethnic groups? Are factors such as his wealth, upper-class status, and privilege important in determining this?
In my opinion, the answer is yes. These questions matter to me as a POC because most of us do not come from a background like Sunak’s. According to data collected by gov.uk in 2019, the highest percentage of people living in the most income-deprived neighbourhoods were Asian (17.4%), compared to the White British group (8.7%) being the least likely to live in these areas. Inequality in our community has become a huge challenge to overcome, and racial inequality is an even bigger task to solve. Austerity has strengthened its hold over the UK, and the country is only deteriorating as this government continues to facilitate the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Because of this, I believe focusing on Sunak being British Asian is something to be content with and to celebrate – but ignoring his socio-economic background will not be sufficient for people like me to trust the Prime Minister in delivering the representation BAME (Black, Asian and ethnic minority) individuals have not had.
I cannot relate to Sunak beyond the fact that I am also a child of immigrant parents. The major difference between us is that Sunak is an extremely affluent figure, who was educated at prestigious schools and was brought up with the privilege I have never thought of having. Coming from a low-income household, I consider myself on the opposite end of the scale to Sunak, who is one of the richest people in Britain.
Consequently, I anticipate that if I were to pursue a career in politics, I would have to match Sunak’s social and financial situation without the help of my parents. I would have to work twice as hard, just as the immigrant rhetoric goes, to accomplish my seemingly unattainable ambitions. Or, I’d have to prove to the British public that I love this country more than anyone else, to justify the position I want in politics.
Sunak’s appointment as prime minister is a reminder to many people from ethnic minority backgrounds that getting into these positions is possible, and he should be applauded for this. Nevertheless, what we must not forget is the endless number of privileges he was entitled to, to gain his authority in No.10.
Despite this, ethnicity and religious beliefs held by a PM should never be the determinant of whether to support them. We need to encounter bigger change and then perhaps there will be a PM who provides us with the representation we require to move forward.
Politics affects everyone, irrespective of the colour of your skin and Sunak’s position has proven that ethnic diversity in politics is growing. The image is there, now we must see if he is successful in living up to representing the ethnic minority demographic the way they want to be represented.
