On August 22 Rishi Sunak came to an event at a Conservative activist's house in London. Shree Sunak is seeking to become the leader of the Conservative Party and therefore Prime Minister since the Conservatives are the governing party.
Sunak arrived a few minutes late accompanied by his four strong security detail. The Conservative Party members there were mostly in their 50s, 60s and 70s. 90% were white. The majority were male.
Mr Sunak met with a warm welcome despite trailing Liz Truss in the poles. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer launched into a bravura set piece oration. He spoke with verve and equipoise. He has an oomph that is sorely lacking in his rival. Rishi is bonhomous and animated. His hand gestures were perhaps studied and overstated. But no one could call him bland. There was not an um or an err in his speech. He kept the entire audience engaged. There were frequent outbursts of applause.
The speech addressed the economy, the health service and Conservative values. He said Conservative values are family, education, patriotism and honesty. He noted that he is telling people what they do not want to hear because he is saying what he believes.
Rishi wore a snowy white shirt but no jacket or tie. There was a red Hindu thread around his wrist. There is not a pinch of fat on him. His grooming is impeccable. He stands but 5'7'' and made a self-deprecating remark about his lack of stature.
There were questions from the party faithful. Rishi said he would only cut tax if it were safe to do so. The priority must be tackling inflation. He stood by his claim that Liz Truss' plan to cut tax but not give any financial help to those struggling with exponentially increasing energy charges, is 'electoral suicide.' Rishi is a man who is no pushover.
Curiously no one asked about Ukraine during the formal Q and A. A man raised it later saying sanctions on Russia had provoked high oil and gas prices. Rishi stood his ground and said that the United Kingdom had to be willing to make sacrifices to stop Russia from savaging its neighbours. Someone asked him about religion. He said his faith informs everything he does.
I had already decided to vote for Rishi before I met him. But after meeting him, my determination to vote for him is redoubled.
The author is a political analyst from the UK. He can be watched on youtube George from Ireland