Second in the Tory leadership race: What's next for Richmond MP Rishi Sunak?

Now that Sunak has been defeated in the Tory leadership race there has been speculation about what he will do next. Credit: PA

He has finished second to Liz Truss in the Conservative leadership campaign, but what is next for Richmond MP Rishi Sunak?

On the 5 September it was announced that Liz Truss would be the next Prime Minister after she won with 57% of the votes, 81,326, while the former chancellor secured 43% with 60,399.

Liz Truss won the Tory leadership by 57% of the votes. Credit: PA

Sunak's "Ready for Rishi" campaign promised to "restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country".

He pledged to take drastic action to tackle the cost of living crisis including the “biggest income tax cut since Margaret Thatcher’s government”.

Now that Sunak has been defeated in the Tory leadership race there has been speculation about what he will do next.

Sunak was elected Conservative MP for Richmond in May 2015 and had the biggest majority of any constituency in the North East and North Yorkshire at the December 2019 general election.

In a recent interview with Laura Kuenssberg he said: "I will stay as a member of parliament.

"I finished this campaign on Friday at home in Yorkshire with my own members which was really lovely and it’s been a great privilege to represent as their Member of Parliament for Richmond and North Yorkshire.

"I would love to keep doing that as long as they’ll have me."

He then went on to tell the BBC he will be standing again to be the MP for Richmond, in North Yorkshire, at the next general election.

Sunak said he will be giving Ms Truss his "full support", but asked if he would take a ministerial job from her, the former chancellor said: "It is just not something I'm thinking about."

The former chancellor said he would stand again in the next general election. Credit: PA

The idea that Sunak would move to California has also been floated around Parliament.

He had a US green card until October last year and often talks about his time living in California.

This is where he studied for his MBA at Stanford University and where he met his wife Akshata.

Sunak lived there for a number of years before returning to the UK.

It was a question that was put to him by Ms Kuenssberg on Sunday 4 September when he said: "Yes I have lived and worked in California and I actually think its one of the reasons I would be good at this job, because what I will bring to this job, is a way of thinking that is different."

Mr Sunak is married to the daughter of a billionaire, Akshata Murthy.

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy have a joint £730 million fortune, putting them at number 222 on the Sunday Times Rich List Credit: PA

She owns £700m in shares of the Indian IT giant Infosys, founded by her father, from which she received £11.6m in dividend income last year.

The pair have a joint £730 million fortune, putting them at number 222 on the Sunday Times Rich List, which ranks Britain's 1,000 richest people.

This wealth has allowed them to afford to build a new tennis court and pool on the grounds of his £1.5million mansion near Northallerton, North Yorkshire- something that came under fire last month as public baths across the country face closure amid huge energy bill hikes.

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