Rishi Sunak is a British politician who served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024; after the 2024 general election in July 2024, he became Leader of the Opposition until the election of Kemi Badenoch as his successor as Conservative leader in October. The first British Indian to hold those offices, Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond and Northallerton, previously Richmond (Yorks), since 2015. He is the most recent Conservative Party prime minister.
Sunak has been described as a moderate within his party with a technocratic or managerial leadership style. According to Euronews, Sunak is "frequently perceived as a pragmatist and as belonging to the centre-ground of the Conservative Party". He opposed the economic policies of Liz Truss and predicted they would result in economic damage, and although described as a fellow Thatcherite, he is viewed as less economically liberal than Truss. In April 2023, Sunak's perception as a centrist contrasted with descriptions of his government's policies on transgender and migration issues as being socially conservative, with Jessica Elgot of The Guardian describing Sunak as "perhaps the most socially conservative PM of his generation".
Robert Shrimsley of the Financial Times described Sunak as someone whose "easy manner, career in global finance and ethnic background might suggest a more cosmopolitan conservative", even though he is socially conservative and pragmatic. Meanwhile, the New Statesman described Sunak as uneasily straddling both liberal-conservative and national-conservative instincts. In July 2023, The Economist described him as "the most right-wing Conservative prime minister since Margaret Thatcher".
Assisted dying for terminally ill adults In June 2025, Sunak voted in favour of legalising assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales.
Crime and anti-terror strategy On crime, Sunak proposed an automatic one-year extension to prison sentences for prolific criminals, as well as cutting the minimum sentence before a foreign criminal is eligible for deportation from twelve months to six. In August 2022, he proposed life imprisonment for leaders of child grooming gangs, and for police to record the ethnicity of those involved in such gangs. He also proposed widening the Prevent strategy by widening the definition of "extremism".
Sunak opposes the death penalty.
COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns Sunak said he had opposed recommendations by government medical advisers for a second "circuit-breaker" lockdown in September 2020 due to the potential impact on jobs and the economy. Then–health secretary Matt Hancock said that Sunak had put Johnson under "enormous pressure" not to introduce further restrictions during this time although Sunak maintained he had only advised Johnson on economic matters in order to help him reach a decision.
According to the diary of Patrick Vallance, he was told by Dominic Cummings that Sunak had argued to "just let people die" during an argument over imposing a second lockdown in October 2020. Sunak denied the "let people die" claim, pointing to the fact that Vallance did not hear the phrase but merely claimed to have been told about it by Cummings.
European Union
Sunak supported the Leave campaign during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union (EU) membership referendum. Speaking in 2022, Sunak said: "I voted for Brexit, I believe in Brexit." Sunak also said the UK would not be pursuing a relationship with the EU post-Brexit if the UK had to align with EU laws. In January 2023, Sunak confirmed intentions to remove EU legislation from the UK statute book that year, saying that it should be a "collective effort".
In February 2023, Sunak negotiated a proposed agreement with the EU on Northern Ireland's trading arrangements which was published as the "Windsor Framework". On 27 February, Sunak delivered a statement to the House of Commons, saying that the proposed agreement "protects Northern Ireland's place in our Union. On 22 March, the date of the parliamentary vote, 22 Conservative MPs and six DUP MPs voted against the government legislation. The vote ultimately passed by 515 votes to 29.
Energy and the environment Sunak signed the Conservative Environment Pledge (CEP), as shown on the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) website which has the support of approximately 127 MPs. The CEP's five main commitments are using Brexit freedoms for the environment and sustainable farming, backing British clean energy suppliers to boost energy security, encouraging the use of domestic insulation and electric vehicle charging points, implementing the Environment Act, and backing technologies that will help to achieve clean growth. During the leadership contest held over summer 2022, Sunak told the CEN that he was engaged with the protection of the environment for future generations.
Sunak has said he is committed to keeping the legal commitment of reaching net zero by 2050. During the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, he said that he intended to make the UK energy independent by 2045, while advocating for more offshore windpower, more solar panels on rooftops and improved insulation of homes to make them more energy efficient. Sunak is said to have listened to fellow MPs with a green agenda and that he was a believer in net zero for the UK. Sunak also voted against a call for the UK to eliminate most greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2030.
While campaigning in August 2022, Sunak wrote that he would restrict the use of solar panels on farmland but would make sure solar is installed on commercial buildings, properties and sheds, saying "on my watch, we will not lose swathes of our best farmland to solar farms." The trade association Solar Energy UK said the solar industry was "deeply concerned" with the intentions of both candidates.
Sunak has backed fracking, where it is supported by local residents. On 19 October in the debate on "Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill (Division 66)", he voted with the government against the ban on fracking. Fracking had been banned by the government in November 2019 after a report by the Oil and Gas Authority found that it was not possible at that time to predict the probability or strength of earthquakes caused by fracking.
While chancellor, Sunak attended COP26 in Glasgow. During the speech he gave on 3 November, he said that he felt optimism despite daunting challenges and that by bringing together finance ministers, businesses and investors, COP 26 could begin to deliver targets from the Paris Agreement. He outlined three actions: First, the need for increased public investment, with the UK committing £100 million to the Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance. He announced support for a new Capital Markets Mechanism which will issue green bonds in the UK to fund renewable energy in developing countries. Second, mobilising private finance, with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero bringing together organisations with assets over $130 trillion to be deployed. Third, the rewiring of the entire global financial system for net zero, which would include better climate data, mandatory sustainability disclosures, climate risk surveillance and stronger global reporting standards. Also announced was that the UK will become the first ever 'Net Zero Aligned Financial Centre'.
During an interview in July 2022, Sunak said that wind generation would be a part of his governments' energy policies, but he wanted to reassure communities that there would not be a relaxation of the current onshore planning laws, with more of a focus on offshore wind farms. This stance was confirmed by the PM's press team in October, who said that Sunak wants "offshore not onshore wind". When asked about wind generation by MP Alan Whitehead at Prime Minister's Questions on 26 October, Sunak responded that, as outlined in the Conservative manifesto of 2019, he would focus on long term energy security, including more offshore wind. Onshore wind generation was made difficult by the National Planning Policy Framework 2016 Update, but as part of his predecessors' policies, the planning laws were set to be relaxed.
Foreign policy In relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sunak supports Ukraine and economic sanctions against Russia but opposes British military intervention in Ukraine. In July 2022, during the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, Sunak called China the "biggest long-term threat" to the UK, adding that "They torture, detain and indoctrinate their own people, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, in contravention of their human rights. And they have continually rigged the global economy in their favour by suppressing their currency". He accused China of supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin and that it was "stealing our technology and infiltrating our universities". Sunak softened his attitude after becoming prime minister, calling the country a "systemic challenge" instead of a "threat", and that the West would "manage this sharpening competition, including with diplomacy and engagement".
Sunak described Saudi Arabia as a "partner" and "ally", but said that the British government does not ignore human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. According to Sunak, "It's absolutely right that" the British government "engages with our partners and allies around the world as we contemplate how best to ensure energy security for this country." During his chancellorship, Sunak also opposed US president Joe Biden's plan to introduce a minimum 21 per cent global business tax. Additionally, Sunak supported the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. During the Gaza war, Sunak stated that "Israel has an absolute right to defend itself." In January 2024, he rejected South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel.
After leaving office in July 2024, Sunak condemned the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, tweeting "In a democracy, you must be able to speak freely and stand for what you believe in. Violence and intimidation must never be allowed to prevail. My thoughts and prayers are with President Trump and the victims of this appalling attack." Russia and Ukraine
Following the 15 November missile explosion in Poland, Sunak met US president Joe Biden and delivered a speech about it. Sunak later met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and pledged to give Ukraine £50 million in aid. After meeting Zelenskyy, Sunak said: "I am proud of how the UK stood with Ukraine from the very beginning. And I am here today to say the UK and our allies will continue to stand with Ukraine, as it fights to end this barbarous war and deliver a just peace."
Sunak visited Ukraine on 12 January 2024 to sign a new UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation with Zelenskyy promising £2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including long-range missiles, artillery ammunition, air defence and maritime security, in addition to £200 million to be spent on military drones, making the United Kingdom the largest deliverer of drones to Ukraine out of any nation according to Downing Street.
Israel and Palestine