Akshata Murty stepped into the spotlight today to introduce her ‘best friend’ and rom-com obsessed husband Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party Conference.
The Prime Minister’s wife gave a surprise speech about the man behind the role to the delight of party members in Manchester.
She described him as a proud Briton and son of immigrants who is driven by ‘aspiration’.
But she also gently teased him over his love of romantic films – ‘the cheesier the better’ – and joked that he was not using the Netflix series Emily in Paris as a guide to EU relations.
Wearing an £875 suit from The Fold she joked that the PM had no idea what she was intending to say. Mrs Murty said her husband of 14 years was her ‘best friend’. She insisted it was the ‘greatest honour’ for him to be in charge of the country, and gave an impassioned endorsement of his character.
‘He is fun, he is thoughtful, he is compassionate and he has an incredible zest for life,’ she said, as cameras picked out an emotional looking PM watching in the wings.
Following her on to the stage, a clearly touched Mr Sunak said: ‘Thank you for always being there for me… Literally the best long-term decision for a brighter future I ever made.’
She is not the first prime-ministerial spouse to address a conference. Sarah Brown spoke at the Labour conference in 2009, the year before husband Gordon lost the 2010 election.
The PM rallied the party faithful as he wraps up what is likely to be the final Conservative gathering before the country chooses a new government.
He dramatically cancelled the rest of HS2 today and vowed to pump the £36billion savings into ‘hundreds’ of better transport projects.
The PM confirmed the move saying the high-speed scheme was the symbol of the ‘old consensus’ – as he vowed to ‘fundamentally change our country’ and fix ‘broken’ politics like Margaret Thatcher did.
In other developments at the Tory conference:
Mr Sunak announced an incremental ban on cigarettes, with the age limit increasing over time;
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt gave a grim vision of the consequences of Tory defeat at the next election, with Labour ceding control to militant unions;
Nigel Farage has hinted he could make a return to the Tories if they become a ‘real’ right-wing party;
A Savanta poll has found that the Tory recovery after Mr Sunak’s Net Zero shift has gone into reverse with Labour 19 points ahead.
The Prime Minister’s wife gave a surprise speech about the man behind the role to the delight of party members in Manchester.
‘He is fun, he is thoughtful, he is compassionate and he has an incredible zest for life,’ she said, as cameras picked out an emotional looking PM watching in the wings.
She is not the first prime-ministerial spouse to address a conference. Sarah Brown spoke at the Labour conference in 2009, the year before husband Gordon lost the 2010 election.
Ms Murty told the crowd in Manchester: ‘Yes, you are absolutely right, I am not on the agenda for today. A bit of a surprise addition shall we say and a surprise for my husband too, who has no idea what I am going to say.’
She later added: ‘The reason why I am here is really quite simple, and it is because Rishi and I are each other’s best friends.
‘We are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else but here today with all of you to show my support to him and to the party.’
She added: ‘Aspiration runs through his DNA like it does through this party. Aspiration is what drove his family many years ago to move to the UK. And it is what drives him.’
The importance of making an impact today was underscored with another poll showing the Tory bounce after he watered down Net Zero commitments has reversed.
Mr Sunak made his pitch to voters to ‘fix’ Britain today as he dramatically cancelled the rest of HS2 to free up £36billion for ‘hundreds’ of better transport projects – and pledged to wipe out smoking in a generation.
The PM confirmed the high-speed rail move saying the scheme was the symbol of the ‘old consensus’ – as he vowed to ‘fundamentally change our country’ and fix ‘broken’ politics like Margaret Thatcher did.
He said bosses of the project would be replaced to ‘take responsibility’ for the way it had been bungled, with costs soaring towards £100billion. ‘The facts have changed… have the courage to change direction.’
He added: ‘There is nothing ambitious about pouring more and more money into the wrong project… For too long people in Westminster have invested in the transport they want.’
Following her on to the stage, a clearly touched Mr Sunak said: ‘Thank you for always being there for me… Literally the best long-term decision for a brighter future I ever made.’
In another bold step, Mr Sunak said he wants to introduce a rising age limit on buying cigarettes – so 14-year-olds now will never be able to purchase them legally. He insisted the policy – which will be put to a free vote in Parliament – would cut cancer deaths by a quarter and protect children. There will also be a crackdown on young people vaping.
Meanwhile, A-Levels and T-Levels are being merged into a new broader Advanced British Standard, teachers of specialist subjects will be lured with £30,000 tax-free bonuses over the first five years, and there will be tougher sentences for the worst offenders.
Summing up his policy blitz, Mr Sunak said: ‘It’s time for a change, and we are it.’
Mr Sunak put community at the heart of his appeal to voters, saying the Conservatives are the party of the ‘pharmacist’s son and grocer’s daughter’ – drawing a parallel between his own background and that of the 1980s Conservative heroine.
The premier is rallying the party faithful as he wraps up what is likely to be the final Conservative gathering before the country chooses a new government – and was introduced by wife Akshata in touching scenes.
Joking that the PM had no idea what she was intending to say, Mrs Murty said her husband of 14 years was her ‘best friend’ and he was summed up by the word ‘aspiration’.
She insisted it was the ‘greatest honour’ for him to be in charge of the country, and gave an impassioned endorsement of his character.
‘He is fun, he is thoughtful, he is compassionate and he has an incredible zest for life,’ she said.
Following her on to the stage, a clearly touched Mr Sunak said: ‘Thank you for always being there for me… Literally the best long-term decision for a brighter future I ever made.’
However, turning to politics Mr Sunak swiped at his critics, saying there will ‘always be people who disagree’ – as he is poised to axe HS2’s Manchester leg, instead pumping billions into other northern transport projects, and delay tax cuts.
And he launched a brutal salvo at Keir Starmer saying he was always ‘banging on about Europe’ and only says whatever he thinks will benefit him.
The importance of making an impact today was underscored with another poll showing the Tory bounce after he watered down Net Zero commitments has reversed.
Mr Sunak was introduced by a video showing how he was ‘changing the status quo’ – including footage of him announcing the Covid furlough scheme as Chancellor and agreeing the Windsor Framework with the EU.
Rishi Sunak headed for Tory conference hand in hand with wife Akshata today as he braced for his big speech
Forein Secretary James Cleverly and Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrive to hear the PM’s speech
Activists started queuing early to get seats for Mr Sunak’s big speech
The importance of Mr Sunak making an impact today was underscored with another poll showing the Tory bounce after he watered down Net Zero commitments has reversed
Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com
