Rishi Sunak and his family have a money problem. Unlike the headaches faced by households across the country, however, the Sunaks’ troubles are borne of having too much cash rather than too little.
Too much, that is, while they continue to be tenants in 10 Downing Street.
The perceived wealth of Mr Sunak has been well documented, prompting accusations that it makes him look out of touch, and his penchant for £3,500 bespoke suits and £450 Gucci shoes has often been highlighted as being difficult to swallow, at least for British audiences.
However, the Prime Minister’s personal wealth is dwarfed by that of his wife, Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of an Indian billionaire, Infosys founder N. R. Narayana Murthy. And this throws up political problems of a different kind for Mr Sunak.
There has not been a prime ministerial spouse in the modern age that holds a personal wealth greater than that of the monarch, and it brings its own unique challenges.
As a businesswoman in her own right, Ms Murty is an angel investor, providing seed funding for start-ups and small businesses all over the country and beyond. It is little wonder then that at some point one of the companies she invests in was likely to benefit at some stage from policies developed by her husband or members of his Government.
As is the case with Koru Kids. Ms Murty invested in the private childcare agency and remains a shareholder. The Government then announced a major overhaul of the childcare system that could lead to Koru Kids benefiting from the reforms. On the face of it, it stinks.
It is doubtful in the extreme that this was intentional. But it still does not look good. Mr Sunak’s failure to update his register of interests as an MP, and subsequent failure to declare the link when prompted in a select committee looks worse still.
If Ms Murty is to continue in her role as the PM’s wife and a business investor, and there is no reason why she should not, then Mr Sunak needs to become a lot better at declaring the family’s many and varied interests.
It is not enough to say they have been lodged with the Cabinet Office and at some point in the future will be made public. A failure to publicly declare their interests once could be deemed carelessness, but serious political questions will be asked if it happens again.
