FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 4/ 52020 17
campaigning alongsideJohnson and aligning
himself withTory activists,includingmanyofhis
Euroscepticconstituents.Richmondwould end
upvotingLeaveby 56 percent.
“He was the new guy up fromLondon, there
was no wayhecould havesupportedRemain,”
saysoneMP.ButHagueandJavidagreethat
Sunak thought he couldseethe“economic oppor-
tunities”of Brexit,eventhough many officialsat
theTreasury he nowheadsbelieveitisbarmy and
havecalculatedthatJohnson’spreferredEU trade
dealwould cut5per cent off British growthover
the next 15years.
Sunak has previouslyarguedthat he “went
through the numbers”and thathis time at Stan-
ford helpedto convince him that theworld was
changingveryfast and that the EU was failing to
keep up.Britain neededtobemorenimble.
“He’saBrexiterbut in myexperiencethat’snot
unusualforasecond-generationimmigrant,”says
one minister who knows himwell. “This country
haschangedtheirlifeoutcomes...HewenttoWin-
chesterand Oxford–these things came asaresult
of this country.That’ssomething that hasavery
strong pull.
“People in international financialservices
wereoften strong Brexiters,”he adds.“They
had different horizons,theydidn’tworry
about continental supplychains likepeople in
international business.”
Sunak’sdecision to supportLeavecame as a
gravedisappointment to Cameron, who had tried
personallytowinoverthe newlyelectedMP.
According to one individual with knowledge of
the meeting,Cameronsighedasthe implacable
Sunaklefttheroom:“Ifwe’velostRishi,we’velost
thefutureofthe party.”
Sunak’ssecond major call was backingJohn-
son for theConservativeleadershiplast summer.
HebrieflyconsideredsupportingMichaelGove,▶MARCH 20
Inhissecond‘unprecedented’
rescuepackage,Sunak
announcesthegovernment
willhelpcompaniesbypaying
80 percentoffurloughedworkers’
wagesupto£2,500amonthper
person,aswellasdeferringVAT
paymentsforthreemonths.MARCH 27
FTanalysissuggestsSunakwill
add£60bnofpublicspending
totheUKeconomy,whichcould
pushthedeficitashighas£200bn
inthecomingfinancialyear.
Suchincreaseswillposedifficult
decisionsforthechancelloronce
theimmediatecrisispasses.MARCH 26
Sunakpledges£3bnofsupport
fortheself-employed,offering
acashgrantinJunecovering
80 percentoftheirtrading
profits,initiallyforthreemonths.
Thechancellorwarnsthis
couldcost‘tensofbillions’.
Thoseearningabove£50,0 00
ayeararenotcovered.moreofabusinessman thanapoliticianinthat
respect.”Afriend saysSunak“has made the most
of all theopportunitiesgiventohim and wants to
givesomething back”.
SajidJavid, whoresignedaschancellor inFeb-
ruary inapowerstruggle withNumber 10,met
Sunakbeforethe 2015 electionandsaysthewan-
nabepolitician sharedmany of hisownbeliefs:
“He’ssomeone who takesanatural interestin
business issues.Ifeltwewerevery much on the
same page: on business,theeconomy,freeenter-
prise,lower taxation, lessregulation.”
Coronavirus,however,has turnedideologyon
its head. Sunak hashad torenationalise rail fran-
chises,paypart of the country’swage bill and
borrowvast sums of money.Higher taxesmay
well followtopayback the debt.Javid saysSunak
had “no alternative”and thatalongside his tough
economic viewsthereis“alot of compassion”in
him. But friends sayheis“instinctivelyagainst”
thestatist measureshe isbeing forcedto adopt.
Haguesays:“There’snothingwetabout him.
Hewould havebeenaThatcheriteinthe daysof
Thatcher,but he’snot stuckinthe 1980s.”He says
Sunakalsobelievesinstate activism andhisper-
spectiveasanorthernMPinformshisdesiretoget
placessuchasthe industrialTeesValleybackon
theirfeet.“He’sveryconsciousthatConservatives
havetobeable torevivean area likethat,”Hague
continues,notingSunak’sproposaltocreateafree
port in thearea. “You canseetheTeesValleyfrom
anyhill in the Richmondconstituency.”
Sunak’spolitical pragmatism wasevident in
hisresponsetothe coronavirus crisis.Butitisalso
apparent,accordingtocolleagues,inhisapproach
to the four-nationUnitedKingdom. An attach-
menttotheUnionflagisnormallyagivenforTory
MPs,but colleaguessaySunak typicallysawthe
issue throughafinanciallens.
One fellowConservative recalls: “Iremem-
berdiscussing the futureoftheUnion with Rishi
and he arguedthat England should breakaway.
He was advocatingthe end of the UKbecause it
doesn’tmakefinancial sensetohim. He doesn’t
haveanylovefor the institution andIsuspect
he looks at it as he looks at anything:what’sthe
profit?”Sunak’salliessaythe chancellor doesnot
recalltheconversationandisastaunchsupporter
oftheUnion“andthesharedvaluesitrepresents”.Sunak’sextraordinary risefromneophyte
politician to chancellor in underfiveyears was
rootedintwobig calls,both of whichwould ulti-
matelybenefithiscareer.Thefirst,inevitably,was
Brexit.When Cameron held his ill-fatedEUref-
erendum in 2016,Sunak joinedtheLeavecamp,‘Hetakesanaturalinterestinbusiness
issues.Wewereverymuchonthesame
page:onbusiness,theeconomy,free
enterprise,lowertaxation,lessregulation’
SajidJavid,formerchancellorWithhisformerbossandthen-
chancellorSajidJavid.Postedto
InstagramDecember 2019