Ealing Road in Brent is bustling with people on the main day of the Hindu religious festival of Diwali and, along with preparation for festivities, there is pride and joy at the news that Rishi Sunak is becoming prime minister. Brent is home to one of the largest populations of Indian Hindus within London, and the former chancellor’s appointment as the first person of colour and of Hindu faith to become prime minister resonates with people along the road. “I’m pretty excited at the prospect of Rishi becoming prime minister,” said one resident, Rohin Nayar. “I was rooting for him in the last leadership race, and was upset when Liz Truss came through and he wasn’t given the opportunity he deserves.” The 20-year-old’s sentiments were echoed by Deepa Nayar, 47, who said: “He’ll be writing history, I feel really good about it … It’ll be nice to see that we are breaking the glass ceilings in politics, the work environment and beyond. We hardly see any people of colour getting up to that level.”
Across all generations, members of the community recognised the significance of Sunak’s triumphs. Savika Nehra, 17, admitted while it felt like both a surprising and strange moment, ultimately it was one of pride for her. “It’s honestly a bit weird to think about Sunak becoming prime minister because he’s brown and all of the prime ministers have been white,” she said. “But to look at him and think ‘oh my gosh, a person the same colour as me is in power’ is definitely a proud moment.” As for how Sunak might get on in the job, there was a sense that he had a good track record on the economy and dealing with support during Covid, but there were others who were not as optimistic. “I think a lot of it is optics, he comes across better than the alternatives,” Kumar M, 54, said. “Though he has worked in finance and probably knows better how the economy works, so he’s about as good as the government has.” There were also questions over why he did not win the leadership contest a matter of weeks ago, when he faced off against Liz Truss in the last election for Tory leader.
Jayantika Joshi, 26, said: “It seemed a bit suspicious that Truss won against someone with his experience. I feel there were a lot of underhanded things going on in the background.” She added: “I feel there may have been racism at play; having someone who is brown in such a high position of power is very rare in this country. When he first came into the running, my family and I thought ‘how long is this going to last, will he make it?’”
Rohin suggested Truss’s initial victory might have largely been down to the Conservative party membership not seeing Sunak as the ideal leader. “I feel that could be because of his background and cultural difference,” he added. “Truss is more favourable for a lot of the Tories.” Nevertheless, Sunak is indeed the new prime minister – and with the overwhelming support of the party – but is the reality of a brown leader one the UK is ready for? “Not at all,” Jayantika said, referring to a recent call-in to an LBC segment in which a self-proclaimed Conservative member claimed Sunak “doesn’t love England” and “isn’t even British”. “Racism in this country is not spoken about but you know it’s there. It’s hidden but it’s definitely there. That caller was a look into what it’s like for a normal south Asian in a predominantly white country. This is who you meet on a regular basis.” Rajendra Ruparela, 68, does not think Sunak will be welcomed with open arms by the public with his popularity hinging on Conservative MPs. “If Johnson had stayed in the rub, I bet you the public would have supported him,” he added.
The “mess” the UK has found itself in was mentioned more than once, something Avinash Ruparela, 35, believes is more than a one-man job. “I think everything within politics and the government is a mess, this is uncharted territory,” he said. “There is a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up, and it’s not just for one person to do.” Amid the feelings of pride and joy of Sunak’s return to Downing Street, there too were calls for democracy. “The country definitely needs a general election,” Kumar said. “[Have] the Conservatives got a mandate after three years? No. Hopefully they will all be booted out soon.”