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Rishi Sunak's light-hearted advice to PM Keir Starmer: ‘Life comes at you fast’
Rishi Sunak also congratulated Keir Starmer for his “decisive” victory in the general election earlier this month.
Britain's former prime minister and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak on Wednesday offered some light-hearted advice to his successor, Keir Starmer, during his first official speech as UK Opposition Leader in Parliament.
Responding to the King’s Speech, which marked the State Opening of Parliament after King Charles III read out the new Labour Party government’s legislative agenda and priorities for coming year, Sunak congratulated Starmer for his decisive victory in the general election earlier this month.
“On the Government Benches, life comes at you fast. Soon, you might be fortunate enough to be tapped on the shoulder and offered a junior ministerial role,” Sunak said, referring to his appointment as a junior Treasury minister and his subsequent promotion to Chancellor in the previous Boris Johnson-led government.
"Then, you'll find yourself attending Cabinet, then in the Cabinet. And then when the prime minister's position becomes untenable, you might end up being called to the highest office," he said, a reference to his appointment as Britain's first prime minister of Indian heritage in 2022 after his predecessors Johnson and Liz Truss quit as PM.
“And before you know it, you have a bright future behind you and are left wondering whether you can credibly be an elder statesman at the age of 44,” Sunak jokingly said.
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In his speech, the MP for Richmond and Northallerton said that the Labour Party successfully tapped into the public’s desire for change in the general elections and now must deliver change.
“The party opposite has successfully tapped into the public’s desire for change but they now must deliver change and we on this side of the House will hold them accountable for delivering on the commitments they made to the British people," he added. "In the national interest, we will not oppose for the sake of it, but when we disagree with the government, it is our responsibility as the opposition to say so.”
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In response, Starmer thanked Sunak for his “generosity” but also took aim at the Conservatives, saying that there will be "no more wedge issues, no more gimmicks, no more party political strategies masquerading as policy” under his watch.
In the general elections held earlier this month, the Labour Party won 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, up 211 from the 2019 elections. The Conservative Party won only 121.
