Britain not racist, Rishi Sunak says proud to be first Indian-origin UK PM

Rishi Sunak: “Never let anyone tell you that this is a racist country. It is not,” the 43-year-old leader said.

UK is not a racist country, British PM Rishi Sunak asserted as he addressed his first Conservative Party conference as party leader in Manchester. Using his own elevation as the country’s first Indian-origin premier as proof, Rishi Sunak said that his skin colour was not a “big deal” in UK.

Rishi Sunak, UK prime minster, delivers his keynote speech on the closing day of the UK Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, UK. (Bloomberg)

“Never let anyone tell you that this is a racist country. It is not,” the 43-year-old leader said after a warm and personal introduction by his wife Akshata Murty, who praised his “honesty, integrity and strength of character”.

“My story is a British story. A story about how a family can go from arriving here with little to Downing Street in three generations,” the Tory leader said as he went on to point to his frontline Cabinet members in the audience- Indian-origin Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho, as reflective of what his party offers migrant families, including “even the chance to become prime minister”.

Reflecting on when he was first chosen to contest from Richmond in North Yorkshire, a seat he has held as MP since his win in 2015, Rishi Sunak said, “One American magazine even sent a reporter to Yorkshire to write about how ‘a candidate of the wrong race [could] cost the Tories one of the safest seats in England?’ But they should not have projected their own prejudices onto our country. The people of North Yorkshire were not interested in my colour, but my character."

“I am proud to be the first British Asian Prime Minister, but you know what, I’m even prouder that it’s just not a big deal. And just remember: it was the Conservative Party who made that happen, not the [Opposition] Labour Party,” he added.

Making a series of announcements across health and education sectors including plans to increase the smoking age, Rishi Sunak said, “I propose that in future we raise the smoking age by one year, every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they — and their generation — can grow up smoke free. We know this works.

He added, “We will introduce the new rigorous, knowledge rich Advanced British Standard which will bring together A-Levels and T-Levels into a new, single qualification for our school leavers. First, this will finally deliver on the promise of parity of esteem between academic and technical education because all students will sit the Advanced British Standard."