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◀alsoafellowBrexiter,telling colleagues:“My

heart saysGove,myhead saysBoris.”Although

Sunak presentedthis asahardchoice about which

candidate was most likelytoreviveToryfortunes,

he also knew thatJohnson was likelytowin.

Inahigh-profile intervention, Sunak joined

twootherrisingstarsoftheparty–RobertJenrick

and OliverDowden–tobackJohnson on thefront

page of The Times.Sunak’sname appearedfirst

on thearticle, whichwas headlined: “TheTories

areindeepperil. OnlyBorisJohnson can saveus.”

“Bland,keep-your-head-downpeople,”was

howone minister inarival camp describedthe

trio.But it also showedthem tobesupremely

ambitious.Sunak had held meetings withJohnson

beforethe endorsement andTory colleaguessay

the whole affair was “transactional” and it paid

off. AlthoughJohnsoninsistedhewas not hand-

ing out jobs duringthe campaign, all threeof the

rising MPsnowsitat thecabinettable.

Tocement hisrelationshipwith the soon-to-

beprime minister,Sunak quicklyfollowedupby

hostingJohnsonand his partner CarrieSymonds

at his grandYorkshirehome during the leadership

campaign, serving burgers from the barbecue in

thewell-tendedgrounds.People who havespent

time with Sunak and Akshata saythe couple are

“very hospitable, completelydowntoearth”.

Although mostpeople saySunak is unflashy,his

wealth canbeasubtlydeployedpolitical asset: a

few months later at theTreasury,he hostedstaff

at anexpensiveMayfairrestaurantaftercomplet-

ingwork onaspendingreview.

InJuly 20 19 ,Sunak entered the Treasury as

number twotohis friendJavid, whobecame

Johnson’sfirstchancellor.“Wehadareallygood

partnership:professional,good-humoured,

respectful,”recallsJavid. MatsPersson,aformer

Treasuryadviser,saysSunak made an immedi-

ateimpression: “He can movebetweenthe detail

andthe bigpictureinawaywhichfewpoliticians

can. The officialsrate himhighly.He knowsthe

brief andcan lead internal discussions with clar-

ity about what he wants to do.”

Javid quit inFebruary afterJohnson–egged

onbyhis combativechief adviserDominic Cum-

mings–decidedtosack all the chancellor’s

advisers and merge officials fromNo 10 andNo 11

intoasingleeconomic team.Bynowit was obvi-

ous toeveryone–includingJavid–that it was only

amatter of timeuntil Sunakbecamechancellor.

As he preparedto walk outofDowning Street,

Javid urgedJohnson not to chooseasoft touch as

hisreplacement: “I told thePM,‘Youneedsome-

one who is going tobestraight withyouand

capable,’andIsaid that had tobeRishi.”Given

thatJohnson’salliesalreadyreferredto Sunak as

“Boris’sfavourite minister”,the conversation was

probablysuperfluous.

Sunak’simmediate focus was on preparing a

March 11 Budget,which includedspendingpro-

posals toboost the northofEngland anda£12bn

package to help tackle coronavirus.But within

days,asCovid-19 swept the country,ultimately

infectingJohnson, Sunak was forcedtoextend

help to furloughedemployees,the self-employed

and struggling businesses.The billfor the first six

months of the outbreak is likelytoexceed£60bn;

the finalreckoningcouldbemuchhigher.

Coronavirus hasbeenamassivechallenge for

Sunak. “Rishi is feeling theweight of theworld on

his shoulders,”saysone ally.“Heknows thereis

an enormousresponsibility on himandhe’sbeen

working 18hoursadayforweeks now.He’sphys-

icallyand psychologicallyexhausted. But he’s

alwaystheonewhosaystopeople:‘Come on, on

to the next job.’”

It is alsoapolitical opportunity.Foradecade,

Tory chancellors havehad to squeeze public

spending: Sunak,bycontrast,hasbeen praisedin

recentweeks forbehaving likealeftwingLabour

chancellor,doling out cash.JeremyCorbyn,

Labour’soutgoing leader,sayshislargesse showed

the opposition hadbeen“absolutelyright” incall-

ing for higher publicspendingatthe2 019 election.

George Osborne, the chancellor who intro-

ducedaperiodofprolongedausterity in the UK,

saysSunakwillfindit harder whenhehasto start

clawingitback.“I knowRishi andIknowhe’s

morethan up to therole,”Osborne previouslytold

the FT.“He’ssmart,engagingandunfazedbythe

bigresponsibilitieshefaces.He alsoknows what

allchancellorsknow:spendingthemoneyisthe

easiest bitofthejob;raising it is thehardest.”

Officials in the Treasury speakreverentially

about their newboss,with some saying he is the

most capablechancellorsince NigelLawsonmore

than 30yearsago.But the learningcurvehasbeen

incrediblysteep: Sunak has noteven had time to

moveintoNo 11 DowningStreetfromhis south-

westLondonbase. NickMacpherson,permanent

secretary at the Treasury foroveradecade until

2016 ,says:“He’sthesortofchancellortheTreas-

‘Hiseffectonhisassociationwasdramatic.

Theyhadintheirmindsthesortofperson

theywanted,thenthistotallydifferent

personwalkedin.TheydidatotalU-turn’

WilliamHague,formerToryleader

Onawalkaboutin his constituency.

PostedtoFacebookAugust2 019

Making‘abrew’ofYorkshireTea‘fortheBudget

prep team’.Posted to InstagramFebruary

Facing page:arriving atNo10 onFebruary13;

hewassubsequentlyappointed chancellor