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Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak
In the middle of 2019, Rishi Sunak was an unknown junior minister in the local government department. Seven months later, at the age of thirty-nine, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, grappling with the gravest economic crisis in modern history.
Michael Ashcroft's new book charts Sunak's ascent from his parents' Southampton pharmacy to the University of Oxford, the City of London, Silicon Valley and the top of British politics.
It is the tale of a super-bright and hardgrafting son of immigrant parents who marries an Indian heiress and makes a fortune of his own; a polished urban southerner who wins over the voters of rural North Yorkshire and a cautious, fiscally conservative financier who becomes the biggest-spending Chancellor in history.
Sunak was unexpectedly promoted to the Treasury's top job in February 2020, with a brief to spread investment and opportunity as part of Boris Johnson's levelling-up agenda. Within weeks, the coronavirus had sent Britain into lockdown, with thousands of firms in peril and millions of jobs on the line. As health workers battled to save lives, it was down to Sunak to save livelihoods. This is the story of how he tore up the rulebook and went for broke.
Michael Ashcroft's new book charts Sunak's ascent from his parents' Southampton pharmacy to the University of Oxford, the City of London, Silicon Valley and the top of British politics.
It is the tale of a super-bright and hardgrafting son of immigrant parents who marries an Indian heiress and makes a fortune of his own; a polished urban southerner who wins over the voters of rural North Yorkshire and a cautious, fiscally conservative financier who becomes the biggest-spending Chancellor in history.
Sunak was unexpectedly promoted to the Treasury's top job in February 2020, with a brief to spread investment and opportunity as part of Boris Johnson's levelling-up agenda. Within weeks, the coronavirus had sent Britain into lockdown, with thousands of firms in peril and millions of jobs on the line. As health workers battled to save lives, it was down to Sunak to save livelihoods. This is the story of how he tore up the rulebook and went for broke.
357 pages, Hardcover
Published November 12, 2020
12 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Michael Ashcroft
41 books13 followersMichael Anthony P. Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, KCMG, PC is an English–Belizean businessman and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is the 95th richest person in the UK, as ranked by the Sunday Times Rich List 2017, with an estimated fortune of £1.35 billion.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
just-for-fun
October 30, 2022I rang for Jeeves the moment I returned from the Drones. I was feeling a bit nonplussed.
He shimmied in, with the much-needed restorer on a tray.
"Thank you, Jeeves," I said after quaffing the stiffish whisky-and-soda in a gulp. "That was a life-saver! I must tell you that I was in dire need of it."
"Indeed, sir?" Jeeves' right eyebrow went up one-sixteenth of an inch, showing that he was greatly concerned.
"Very much. Jeeves," I continued, "they tell me at the Drones that an Indian chappie is our new PM. Is that right?"
Jeeves didn't reply immediately. His lip had curled up infinitesimally. The man was smirking.
"A common enough mistake, sir," he said. "Mr. Rishi Sunak, our current Prime Minister, is not Indian. He is what they term a Britisher of Indian origin."
"Does that mean he came from India?"
"Oh no, sir. It only means that Mr. Sunak's forefathers are of Indian origin."
"Ah!" I said as light dawned on me. "You mean his parents are from India."
Jeeves coughed deferentially. "Not exactly, sir. The current prime minister's father came to England from Kenya and his mother came from Tanzania."
"Those countries are in Africa, aren't they?" My head was in a whirl again. "Then why isn't the blighter called African?"
"Well, sir, Mr. Sunak's grandparents originally relocated to Africa from Gujranwala in colonial India..."
"Oho!" I was getting it now. "That is why you said his forefathers are from India!" I said, interrupting Jeeves.
Jeeves once again cleared his throat. "I would not say that that statement is one hundred percent accurate, sir."
I was lost again. "Why, Jeeves?"
"Because Gujranwala is in current-day Pakistan, sir," he said almost apologetically.
"Blast it, Jeeves!" I wailed in consternation. "We have a bloke whose parents are from Africa, and whose grandparents are from Pakistan, in No:10 Downing Street - and he is called Indian? Why?"
Jeeves lips had gone up by the eighth of an inch. The chap was smirking again.
"Well, sir, if I might hazard an opinion." He said in a low voice. "I think it might be because Mr. Rishi Sunak worships cows."
"By Jove, Jeeves!" I exclaimed, as illumination finally dawned on me. "Now I get it! You have... what is the phrase you always use, for putting one's finger on the thing?"
"Is 'rem acu tetigisti' the phrase you are searching for, sir?"
"You're damn right it is! Now get me another stiffener! I need it."
He shimmied in, with the much-needed restorer on a tray.
"Thank you, Jeeves," I said after quaffing the stiffish whisky-and-soda in a gulp. "That was a life-saver! I must tell you that I was in dire need of it."
"Indeed, sir?" Jeeves' right eyebrow went up one-sixteenth of an inch, showing that he was greatly concerned.
"Very much. Jeeves," I continued, "they tell me at the Drones that an Indian chappie is our new PM. Is that right?"
Jeeves didn't reply immediately. His lip had curled up infinitesimally. The man was smirking.
"A common enough mistake, sir," he said. "Mr. Rishi Sunak, our current Prime Minister, is not Indian. He is what they term a Britisher of Indian origin."
"Does that mean he came from India?"
"Oh no, sir. It only means that Mr. Sunak's forefathers are of Indian origin."
"Ah!" I said as light dawned on me. "You mean his parents are from India."
Jeeves coughed deferentially. "Not exactly, sir. The current prime minister's father came to England from Kenya and his mother came from Tanzania."
"Those countries are in Africa, aren't they?" My head was in a whirl again. "Then why isn't the blighter called African?"
"Well, sir, Mr. Sunak's grandparents originally relocated to Africa from Gujranwala in colonial India..."
"Oho!" I was getting it now. "That is why you said his forefathers are from India!" I said, interrupting Jeeves.
Jeeves once again cleared his throat. "I would not say that that statement is one hundred percent accurate, sir."
I was lost again. "Why, Jeeves?"
"Because Gujranwala is in current-day Pakistan, sir," he said almost apologetically.
"Blast it, Jeeves!" I wailed in consternation. "We have a bloke whose parents are from Africa, and whose grandparents are from Pakistan, in No:10 Downing Street - and he is called Indian? Why?"
Jeeves lips had gone up by the eighth of an inch. The chap was smirking again.
"Well, sir, if I might hazard an opinion." He said in a low voice. "I think it might be because Mr. Rishi Sunak worships cows."
"By Jove, Jeeves!" I exclaimed, as illumination finally dawned on me. "Now I get it! You have... what is the phrase you always use, for putting one's finger on the thing?"
"Is 'rem acu tetigisti' the phrase you are searching for, sir?"
"You're damn right it is! Now get me another stiffener! I need it."
October 30, 2021
There is no doubt that Rishi Sunak's rise in British politics has been meteoric propelling him, as I write, to Chancellor of the Exchequer, the UK's chief financial minister and the Government's second most senior position after the prime minister.
Michael Ashcroft's book helps to show who Sunak is and how he came to reach high-office. The coverage of Sunak's early upbringing and education provides useful insight, where he went to Winchester College studying politics and philosophy and then economics at Oxford University. Following this, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the USA's Stanford University, where highly-intelligent young people from across the world come to study. Here at Stanford, he studied for his MBA. Although at times it feels the account lacks a little depth, what we see and read is of a young boy and adolescent lad from a hard-working middle-class immigrant family, who is bright, intelligent, dedicated and very well-liked and remembered by all.
Sunak's post-education work sees him move into a business career, notably within the finance industry, where he is remembered as being detailed, quick to grasp facts, very well prepared and well respected. This experience, coupled with the bearing and ethics instilled from his parents and childhood sees him want to move towards politics to improve his country and its people's lot.
The move into politics is very interesting, and again shows Sunak's capabilities and approach to do things well and to always consider various opinions and importantly facts - data, data and more data so he grasps and masters his subject/s. This preparation and successful period feeds into his move to become an MP. Again he works very hard and spends time learning and listening to those with experience and those who live and work in the areas he is canvassing in. He is elected Conservative MP for Richmond in Yorkshire in May 2015, stepping into the big shoes of William Hague, who is greatly liked and respected in the constituency and within the Conservative party. Prior being offered the chancellorship, he served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from June 2017.
Throughout this book, the author shows Rishi Sunak's personality, approach and skills to the positive. He comes across as a good bloke. It is clear he is highly-intelligent, very detailed and data driven, whilst also being personable and liked by almost all (there are no negative views of Sunak in this book).
How he survives the rigours of being a chancellor that has to build foundations for Britain post-Covid and Brexit alongside prime minister Boris Johnson's net zero green programmes, will be interesting to see. That will require another book that examines and critiques the man and his performance more deeply than this enjoyable but somewhat laudatory account - perhaps when he is or has been the UK's first prime minister from Asian heritage.
Michael Ashcroft's book helps to show who Sunak is and how he came to reach high-office. The coverage of Sunak's early upbringing and education provides useful insight, where he went to Winchester College studying politics and philosophy and then economics at Oxford University. Following this, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the USA's Stanford University, where highly-intelligent young people from across the world come to study. Here at Stanford, he studied for his MBA. Although at times it feels the account lacks a little depth, what we see and read is of a young boy and adolescent lad from a hard-working middle-class immigrant family, who is bright, intelligent, dedicated and very well-liked and remembered by all.
Sunak's post-education work sees him move into a business career, notably within the finance industry, where he is remembered as being detailed, quick to grasp facts, very well prepared and well respected. This experience, coupled with the bearing and ethics instilled from his parents and childhood sees him want to move towards politics to improve his country and its people's lot.
The move into politics is very interesting, and again shows Sunak's capabilities and approach to do things well and to always consider various opinions and importantly facts - data, data and more data so he grasps and masters his subject/s. This preparation and successful period feeds into his move to become an MP. Again he works very hard and spends time learning and listening to those with experience and those who live and work in the areas he is canvassing in. He is elected Conservative MP for Richmond in Yorkshire in May 2015, stepping into the big shoes of William Hague, who is greatly liked and respected in the constituency and within the Conservative party. Prior being offered the chancellorship, he served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from June 2017.
Throughout this book, the author shows Rishi Sunak's personality, approach and skills to the positive. He comes across as a good bloke. It is clear he is highly-intelligent, very detailed and data driven, whilst also being personable and liked by almost all (there are no negative views of Sunak in this book).
How he survives the rigours of being a chancellor that has to build foundations for Britain post-Covid and Brexit alongside prime minister Boris Johnson's net zero green programmes, will be interesting to see. That will require another book that examines and critiques the man and his performance more deeply than this enjoyable but somewhat laudatory account - perhaps when he is or has been the UK's first prime minister from Asian heritage.
Read
November 27, 2020Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak by Michael Ashcroft
There’s an old story concerning a cranky reviewer whose opinion of a certain book was that its only faults were the front cover, the back cover and everything in between. Now, that would be too harsh a summary of Michael Ashcroft’s new biography of Yorkshire’s own chancellor; the cover isn’t actually that bad.
In Going For Broke; Ashcroft sets out to detail the ascent of Rishi Sunak to what is, now that Dom Cummings has taken his cardboard box home, the second most important job in Downing Street.
Ashcroft insists that "Sunak has proved to be a fascinating subject” and that he is delighted to relate “the incredibly eventful first four decades of his life," but the truth is this book makes ditch-water look exciting. There is next to no narrative arc, while insightful revelations are equally limited, frankly it’s difficult to be excited by the discovery that Sunak is a ballroom dancer who keeps an eye on how Southampton F.C. are getting on.
Even the book’s title feels like the first cliche that popped into the author’s head. It’s certainly well-worn having being wheeled out umpteen times, notably for a film about a compulsive gambler who loses everything, an expose of the fiscal policies that brought down Barings bank and an episode of the Basil Brush show. I have been unable to establish which of these inspired the author’s choice.
In previous biographies Ashcroft has shown that he is capable of unearthing noteworthy points on his subjects, famously alleging that while at Oxford, David Cameron developed an unusually strong attachment to pigs. But in this volume, potential controversy is almost entirely ignored, leaving the reader to trudge through a torpid account of what the author tells us is a career built on hard work and impeccable character.
The early chapters are at least promising. We are given some detail concerning Sunak’s ancestry which includes a grandmother so determined to build a new life in the UK that she sold her jewellery to fund a no doubt arduous journey from her native Tanzania, thus becoming the sort of courageous, ingenious, economic migrant that current government policies would label illegal.
As for the rest, we are told little that could be considered unusual for any Tory cabinet minister. Sunak has trod an entirely conventional path to the Treasury, even if he has skipped along it at a spritely pace. An absurdly expensive school, followed by a PPE at Oxford and a stint in the murky world of hedge funds, has endowed him with wealth, privilege and all the important connections those things bring with them. Of course, marriage into one of the richest families in India doesn’t hurt, but hey, you can’t choose who you fall in love with.
However, in seven months of research Ashcroft apparently found nothing in this backstory worthy of critical scrutiny. Ignoring the opportunity to examine possible controversies seems short-sighted and when the author gushes about Sunak’s “huge intellect, ferocious work ethic, good political judgement and great interpersonal skills” it’s hard not to conclude that this myopia is self-inflicted.
Among the issues Lord Ashcroft could have taken a peak at are a partnership in the extremely aggressive and misnamed Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) which encouraged the Royal Bank of Scotland’s disastrous purchase of Dutch bank ABN Amro and so led to a £45bn taxpayer-funded bailout at the start of the financial crash. Sunak went on to help start the Theleme Partners hedge fund with an associate from TCI, who was later ordered to hand back £8m in tax he had avoided paying.
Then there’s the lack of clarity concerning the blind-trust the chancellor uses to ensure his fortune is well invested, his dismal voting record, his role in pushing his party towards Brexit and even dark rumours that an obscure change in tax rules has benefited Infosys, his family business.
What is beyond doubt is that Sunak is extremely well connected. Best man at James Forsyth’s wedding (Editor at the Spectator) the chancellor provided a convenient advisory position for his partner Angela Stratton allowing her leap from TV news presenter to government spokesperson to be obscured by a diplomatic six months. The Treasury also found room for Richard Sharp, Sunak’s old boss at Goldman Sachs, to fill the unlikely position of covid loans advisor. Sunak was happy to accept all the Cummings’ appointees that Javid refused to stick around for and his own incredibly efficient PR team is fronted by Cass Horowitz, co-founder of Clerkenwell Brothers who rescued the Tory’s social media in 2017.
The chancellor’s biographer might have wondered if some of these connections helped, against the odds, to parachute an inexperienced Sunak into the safest Tory seat in the country. Instead, he trots out the party-line that it was a straight-forward selection despite contemporary reports of resentment among local activists and a ‘very acrimonious constituency battle,’ with a lot of hostility to an outsider.
Much of the media enjoy employing lazy characterisations of the country’s first Hindu chancellor. We’ve had The Maharaja of the Dales and The Disney Prince Tory and the BBC even pictured him as an Asian superman before a rapid rethink. To his credit Ashcroft avoids most of these tropes although, in one incongruous passage, he congratulates the young Sunak for balancing “two ways of life” at the weekend by watching football and attending temple, as if being Asian and liking sport were somehow incompatible.
At the virtual book launch, hosted by Paul Goodman of the right-wing blog Conservative Home, the impression that we were witnessing an attempt to anoint the next PM increased by the minute before culminating in a video compilation of Sunak’s best moments complete with rousing soundtrack. We were also treated to several digs at the present incumbent. If Ashcroft’s description of Sunak as someone who “comes across as supremely competent at a time when competence is at a premium” lacked subtlety, calling Johnson one of the “previous leaders” as if he’d already resigned, was surely just unintentionally clumsy.
It’s worth noting that this is officially an un-official biography, with Sunak’s team keeping the author’s researchers at arms-length. Perhaps they were wary of the sort of relationship that proved so dangerous for William Hague, Sunak’s predecessor as MP for Richmond, when it was disclosed that Lord Ashcroft used his secretive non-dom status to avoid paying millions in UK taxes.
When asked if he had enjoyed the book and Ashcroft’s assessment of him, the Chancellor’s office were equally careful telling me that; “Given how busy he has been recently, I’m not sure he has had time for extra-curricular reading!”
This review first appeared in yorkshire bylines https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/torpid...
There’s an old story concerning a cranky reviewer whose opinion of a certain book was that its only faults were the front cover, the back cover and everything in between. Now, that would be too harsh a summary of Michael Ashcroft’s new biography of Yorkshire’s own chancellor; the cover isn’t actually that bad.
In Going For Broke; Ashcroft sets out to detail the ascent of Rishi Sunak to what is, now that Dom Cummings has taken his cardboard box home, the second most important job in Downing Street.
Ashcroft insists that "Sunak has proved to be a fascinating subject” and that he is delighted to relate “the incredibly eventful first four decades of his life," but the truth is this book makes ditch-water look exciting. There is next to no narrative arc, while insightful revelations are equally limited, frankly it’s difficult to be excited by the discovery that Sunak is a ballroom dancer who keeps an eye on how Southampton F.C. are getting on.
Even the book’s title feels like the first cliche that popped into the author’s head. It’s certainly well-worn having being wheeled out umpteen times, notably for a film about a compulsive gambler who loses everything, an expose of the fiscal policies that brought down Barings bank and an episode of the Basil Brush show. I have been unable to establish which of these inspired the author’s choice.
In previous biographies Ashcroft has shown that he is capable of unearthing noteworthy points on his subjects, famously alleging that while at Oxford, David Cameron developed an unusually strong attachment to pigs. But in this volume, potential controversy is almost entirely ignored, leaving the reader to trudge through a torpid account of what the author tells us is a career built on hard work and impeccable character.
The early chapters are at least promising. We are given some detail concerning Sunak’s ancestry which includes a grandmother so determined to build a new life in the UK that she sold her jewellery to fund a no doubt arduous journey from her native Tanzania, thus becoming the sort of courageous, ingenious, economic migrant that current government policies would label illegal.
As for the rest, we are told little that could be considered unusual for any Tory cabinet minister. Sunak has trod an entirely conventional path to the Treasury, even if he has skipped along it at a spritely pace. An absurdly expensive school, followed by a PPE at Oxford and a stint in the murky world of hedge funds, has endowed him with wealth, privilege and all the important connections those things bring with them. Of course, marriage into one of the richest families in India doesn’t hurt, but hey, you can’t choose who you fall in love with.
However, in seven months of research Ashcroft apparently found nothing in this backstory worthy of critical scrutiny. Ignoring the opportunity to examine possible controversies seems short-sighted and when the author gushes about Sunak’s “huge intellect, ferocious work ethic, good political judgement and great interpersonal skills” it’s hard not to conclude that this myopia is self-inflicted.
Among the issues Lord Ashcroft could have taken a peak at are a partnership in the extremely aggressive and misnamed Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) which encouraged the Royal Bank of Scotland’s disastrous purchase of Dutch bank ABN Amro and so led to a £45bn taxpayer-funded bailout at the start of the financial crash. Sunak went on to help start the Theleme Partners hedge fund with an associate from TCI, who was later ordered to hand back £8m in tax he had avoided paying.
Then there’s the lack of clarity concerning the blind-trust the chancellor uses to ensure his fortune is well invested, his dismal voting record, his role in pushing his party towards Brexit and even dark rumours that an obscure change in tax rules has benefited Infosys, his family business.
What is beyond doubt is that Sunak is extremely well connected. Best man at James Forsyth’s wedding (Editor at the Spectator) the chancellor provided a convenient advisory position for his partner Angela Stratton allowing her leap from TV news presenter to government spokesperson to be obscured by a diplomatic six months. The Treasury also found room for Richard Sharp, Sunak’s old boss at Goldman Sachs, to fill the unlikely position of covid loans advisor. Sunak was happy to accept all the Cummings’ appointees that Javid refused to stick around for and his own incredibly efficient PR team is fronted by Cass Horowitz, co-founder of Clerkenwell Brothers who rescued the Tory’s social media in 2017.
The chancellor’s biographer might have wondered if some of these connections helped, against the odds, to parachute an inexperienced Sunak into the safest Tory seat in the country. Instead, he trots out the party-line that it was a straight-forward selection despite contemporary reports of resentment among local activists and a ‘very acrimonious constituency battle,’ with a lot of hostility to an outsider.
Much of the media enjoy employing lazy characterisations of the country’s first Hindu chancellor. We’ve had The Maharaja of the Dales and The Disney Prince Tory and the BBC even pictured him as an Asian superman before a rapid rethink. To his credit Ashcroft avoids most of these tropes although, in one incongruous passage, he congratulates the young Sunak for balancing “two ways of life” at the weekend by watching football and attending temple, as if being Asian and liking sport were somehow incompatible.
At the virtual book launch, hosted by Paul Goodman of the right-wing blog Conservative Home, the impression that we were witnessing an attempt to anoint the next PM increased by the minute before culminating in a video compilation of Sunak’s best moments complete with rousing soundtrack. We were also treated to several digs at the present incumbent. If Ashcroft’s description of Sunak as someone who “comes across as supremely competent at a time when competence is at a premium” lacked subtlety, calling Johnson one of the “previous leaders” as if he’d already resigned, was surely just unintentionally clumsy.
It’s worth noting that this is officially an un-official biography, with Sunak’s team keeping the author’s researchers at arms-length. Perhaps they were wary of the sort of relationship that proved so dangerous for William Hague, Sunak’s predecessor as MP for Richmond, when it was disclosed that Lord Ashcroft used his secretive non-dom status to avoid paying millions in UK taxes.
When asked if he had enjoyed the book and Ashcroft’s assessment of him, the Chancellor’s office were equally careful telling me that; “Given how busy he has been recently, I’m not sure he has had time for extra-curricular reading!”
This review first appeared in yorkshire bylines https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/torpid...
February 12, 2022
For anyone speculating about the future of British politics, this book is a useful insight into what that future may be.
As detailed in this brief yet informative biography, Sunak's career has always followed an upward trajectory. Competent and well-liked, there is every indication his undisturbed ascent will continue into No. 10. However, as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. It can be brutal and unforgiving to the seemingly untouchable politicians. Still a relative newcomer to the world of politics, being elected an MP in 2015, Sunak is still untested as the author acknowledges "There are things about him we don't yet know".
Undoubtedly, Sunak will play a leading role in the Westminster drama for the foreseeable future and this book gives any political hawk an understanding of the man in the cashmere hoodies.
As detailed in this brief yet informative biography, Sunak's career has always followed an upward trajectory. Competent and well-liked, there is every indication his undisturbed ascent will continue into No. 10. However, as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics. It can be brutal and unforgiving to the seemingly untouchable politicians. Still a relative newcomer to the world of politics, being elected an MP in 2015, Sunak is still untested as the author acknowledges "There are things about him we don't yet know".
Undoubtedly, Sunak will play a leading role in the Westminster drama for the foreseeable future and this book gives any political hawk an understanding of the man in the cashmere hoodies.
October 25, 2022
Great biography on the life so far of Rishi Sunak! Though it paints Rish in a very positive light, it draws on many sources close to him and his work to critique and praise all aspects of his life.
After reading this, no matter political allegiance, you will no doubt be very disappointed that Sunak did not become our PM.
After reading this, no matter political allegiance, you will no doubt be very disappointed that Sunak did not become our PM.
November 30, 2022
Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak (Hardcover) by Michael Ashcroft- The book narrates the biography of Rishi Sunak. It provides light on his early upbringing and education which is a useful insight, where he went to Winchester College studying politics and philosophy and then economics at Oxford University. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the USA's Stanford University, where highly intelligent young people from across the world come to study. Here at Stanford, he studied for his MBA. Although at times it feels the account lacks a little depth, what we see and read is of a young boy and adolescent lad from a hard-working middle-class immigrant family, who is bright, intelligent, dedicated and very well-liked and remembered by all. Sunak's post-education work sees him move into a business career, notably within the finance industry, where he is remembered as being detailed, quick to grasp facts, very well prepared and well respected. This experience, coupled with the bearing and ethics instilled from his parents and childhood sees him want to move towards politics to improve his country and its people's lot. The move into politics is very interesting, and again shows Sunak's capabilities and approach to do things well and to always consider various opinions and importantly facts - data, data and more data so he grasps and masters his subject/s. This preparation and successful period feeds into his move to become an Member of Parliament. Again, he works very hard and spends time learning and listening to those with experience and those who live and work in the areas he is canvassing in. He is elected Conservative MP for Richmond in Yorkshire in May 2015, stepping into the big shoes of William Hague, who is greatly liked and respected in the constituency and within the Conservative party. Prior being offered the chancellorship, he served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from June 2017. Throughout this book, the author shows Rishi Sunak's personality, approach and skills to the positive. The book is the tale of a super-bright and hard-grafting son of immigrant parents. It is an interesting and motivating book.
December 2, 2022
Long and winding book
It's like I've just read a book by some one whose read a book about Rishi Sunak and then written one themselves; then added some bits about Brexit and the pandemic to pad it out. I wanted to find out about Rishi Sunak and I feel I have but the whole Brexit and pandemic veered the book a lot away from the main focus of the book. It seems that the book was written too early in Rishi's life to be honest or that there's not a lot of his life that's been reported on.
So for the first 200 pages it's fine. Finding out about his early life and pre-politician life was interesting. Even how he started out in politics and how he worked for his constituency was good. Once onto Brexit I feel that Rishi got lost in telling a story that he seemed on the edge of it all. More so with the pandemic.
If you want to find out about Rishi read it but be aware of what awaits after page 200.
It's like I've just read a book by some one whose read a book about Rishi Sunak and then written one themselves; then added some bits about Brexit and the pandemic to pad it out. I wanted to find out about Rishi Sunak and I feel I have but the whole Brexit and pandemic veered the book a lot away from the main focus of the book. It seems that the book was written too early in Rishi's life to be honest or that there's not a lot of his life that's been reported on.
So for the first 200 pages it's fine. Finding out about his early life and pre-politician life was interesting. Even how he started out in politics and how he worked for his constituency was good. Once onto Brexit I feel that Rishi got lost in telling a story that he seemed on the edge of it all. More so with the pandemic.
If you want to find out about Rishi read it but be aware of what awaits after page 200.
February 21, 2024
Going for broke with Rishi Sunak, well I think we can say mission accomplished Rishi!!! It's incredible what he, with a little help from Liz Truss, can accomplish in such a short span of time. Say what you will about his personality, height, or deficiencies he's a man of his word. when he says the uk will be going for broke he means it :)
February 17, 2025
Decent account of Sunak’s life and career, only problem is that Rishi is a pretty dull person so not the most thrilling of reads. The wildest, most out-there thing he seems to have ever done is sneak a radio into his boarding school to listen to the 1996 Euros. The bits on his family background are the most interesting.
July 26, 2023
Seems balanced but difficult to be impartial as covered the Pandemic.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews