Who is Rishi Sunak, the new UK Prime Minister? Campaign promises, net worth and stance on Brexit

As Rishi Sunak starts to populate the front bench of Parliament now he is the UK Prime Minister, the questions are not just about who will land a new role in Sunak’s cabinet, but what were his promises on the campaign trail while he competed against Liz Truss in the leadership race earlier this year.

Sunak’s campaign marks his second attempt at the Number 10 role, having declared his interest in the position following the resignation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and gathering support with members of the Tory Party through his Ready For Rishi campaign.

But ultimately Sunak’s attempt at the role saw accusations of throwing Boris Johnson, who elected Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer during his time in power, under the bus for his own political career. These sentiments did not sit well with the party membership allegedly, leading to the truncated premiership of Liz Truss, who resigned on Thursday.

After much speculation on Monday if Penny Mordaunt would gather enough backing before the 2pm deadline, the MP decided to pull out of contention and instead tweeted her support for Rishi Sunak, leading to the second youngest Prime Minister in UK political history running unopposed and becoming both leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.

With Sunak now the British Prime Minister, how can we expect him to lead the country? Here are his promises made while on the campaign trail, and an insight into his political history and  Just how much the multi-millionaire is worth.

Rishi Sunak’s promises when campaigning for Prime Minister

While initially campaigning for the role of Prime Minister in the last Tory leadership race, Rishi Sunak set out a ten-point plan for Britain, still on show at his official campaign website

• Rebuilding our Economy - A long-term plan to beat inflation, encourage investment to boost growth, and cut the basic income tax rate by 20%.
• Scrapping VAT on Energy Bills - Temporarily scrapping VAT on energy bills to support every family through the winter.
• Cutting NHS Backlogs - Getting to grips with the waiting list and introducing fines for missed appointments to stop our NHS from being misused.
• Delivering on Brexit - Scrapping all EU laws that hold the economy back before the next election.
• Tackling Illegal Immigration - Tightening rules on asylum, capping the number of refugees, and making the Rwanda Partnership work.
• Clamping Down on Crime - Introducing automatic custodial sentences for career criminals and an emergency task force to track down grooming gangs.
• Transforming Education - Teaching maths and English to 18, boosting technical education like apprenticeships, and cracking down on poor quality degrees.
• Strengthening the Union - Fixing the Northern Ireland Protocol, levelling up investment in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and standing up to Nicola Sturgeon.
• Protecting our Green Belt - Building homes on brownfield sites, faster development of homes with planning permission, and blocking any inappropriate development on our Green Belt.
• Winning the next General Election - Fully funding Campaign Managers in every 80:20 target seat and giving greater power to members.

Was Rishi Sunak a remainer?

Rishi Sunak voted to leave the EU and has almost always voted for pro-Brexit policies in Parliament, including voting to leave without a withdrawal agreement in April 2019.

At the Conservative Party conference in 2021, Sunak said he was told back in 2016 that if he voted for Brexit, his political career would be ‘over before it had even begun. He went on to say "I put my principles first," adding that he was proud to back Brexit because "the agility, flexibility, and freedom provided by Brexit will be more valuable in a 21st Century global economy than just proximity to a market."

What is Rishi Sunak’s net worth?

The 2022 Sunday Times Rich list valued the joint fortune of Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty at £730m. The couple owns four homes worth an estimated £15m: two in London, one in Yorkshire, and one in LA.

Their Kensington mews home is estimated to be worth £7m alone, and their other London residence, located on Old Brompton Road, is said to be used as a place for relatives to stay.

The property in Yorkshire is a Grade-II listed Georgian mansion, set across 12 acres and includes an ornamental lake. In 2021, Sunak’s family was given planning permission to build a swimming pool, gym, and tennis court beside the historic North Yorkshire home.

Finally, the penthouse in California - where the couple met while studying at Stanford University - is reportedly worth £5.5m and overlooks the beach where Baywatch was filmed.