Labour MP Nadia Whittome sparks backlash after claiming Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister ‘isn’t a win for Asian representation’ because he is a multi-millionaire
- Labour MP Nadia Whittome in Twitter row after claiming Rishi Sunak becoming Prime Minister was ‘not a win for Asian representation’
- 26-year-old member of Socialist Campaign Group sparked fury with comments
A Labour MP has sparked online outrage after claiming Rishi Sunak becoming Prime Minister is ‘not a win for Asian representation’ because of his vast personal wealth.
Nadia Whittome, Nottingham’s MP and member of the Socialist Campaign Group, claimed Britain’s newest Prime Minister was ‘not on your side’.
‘Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister isn’t a win for Asian representation,’ tweeted the 26-year-old Labour MP, who also has Indian roots.
‘He’s a multimillionaire who, as chancellor, cut taxes on bank profits while overseeing the biggest drop in living standards since 1956. Black, white or Asian: if you work for a living, he is not on your side.’
Her tweet was later deleted after she was contacted by Labour headquarters and told to remove it.
With his victory coming on Diwali, Mr Sunak will become the UK’s first ever Hindu prime minister, the first of Asian heritage, and the youngest to take up the mantle in more than two centuries at the age of 42.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr Sunak on Twitter and wrote: ‘Special Diwali wishes to “living bridge” of UK Indians as we transform historic ties into modern partnership.’
Nadia Whittome, Nottingham’s 26-year-old MP and member of the Socialist Campaign Group, claimed Britain’s newest Prime Minister was ‘not on your side’
Although her initial tweet was deleted, Ms Whittome doubled down on her critique of Mr Sunak’s personal fortune in later tweets
With his victory coming on Diwali, Mr Sunak will become the UK’s first ever Hindu prime minister, the first of Asian heritage, and the youngest to take up the mantle in more than two centuries at the age of 42
Mr Sunak, the GP’s son from Southampton whose Indian parents immigrated to Britain in the 1960s, takes his parliamentary oath on the sacred Sanskrit text, the Bhagavad Gita.
He has previously spoken about how his Asian identity matters to him, telling the BBC: ‘I’m a first generation immigrant. My parents emigrated here, so you’ve got this generation of people who are born here, their parents were not born here, and they’ve come to this country to make a life.’
The UK’s first – and only other – minority prime minister was Benjamin Disraeli, who was Jewish, in 1874.
Ms Whittome’s comments were met with derision by thousands of wellwishers who were quick to celebrate the fact Britain is now the first major European country to be led by a non-white politician.
Conservative party member Ravi Kumar, 38, from Nottingham, described Mr Sunak’s astronomical rise as a ‘watershed moment’ in British politics.
‘I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and I could not even imagine a non-white prime minister in my lifetime,’ he said. ‘I always just saw it as a white country and we’d come in as children of immigrants… So to see a British Indian leader is phenomenal.’
Mr Sunak with his wife Akshata Murthy and daughters Krishna and Anoushka. He has previously spoken about how his Asian identity matters to him, telling the BBC: ‘I’m a first generation immigrant. My parents emigrated here, so you’ve got this generation of people who are born here, their parents were not born here, and they’ve come to this country to make a life.’
Mr Sunak previously shared pictures of his childhood in a three-minute long video when he launched his first Tory leadership campaign this summer
The new PM has regularly spoken of how his father, Yashvir, was an NHS GP in Southampton
He has also described how his mother, Usha, came to Britain from East Africa at the age of 15
Parliamentarian Raghav Chadha tweeted: ‘Today, as India celebrates Diwali in its 75th year as an independent nation, the UK gets an Indian-origin Prime Minister. History comes full circle.’
Sanjay Chandarana, president of the Vedic Society Temple – which Mr Sunak’s grandfather co-founded 50 years ago – also said his elevation to Prime Minister meant more fireworks would be needed for Diwali celebrations and that Mr Sunak would be an ‘inspiration for youngsters’.
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