100 hours to his 100-day mark, Rishi Sunak lost a second cabinet minister

RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL January 30, 2023
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Nearly a hundred hours before Rishi Sunak marks 100 days in the prime minister’s office, he lost a cabinet minister.

It seemed rather careless.

With the sacking of Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi, Mr Sunak’s record as PM now stands as follows: he has lost two cabinet ministers in his first three months. A third, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, is under investigation. (Mr Sunak’s 100-day mark is Thursday, February 2)

Unsurprisingly, the main opposition Labour Party has seized on the delay – of several days – before Mr Sunak fired Mr Zahawi for he showing “insufficient regard” for the ministerial code and its requirement to be “honest, open and an exemplary leader”. Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the time taken to act showed a prime minister “trying to manage his MPs, rather than govern in the national interest”.

It’s politics, of course, but it does address British people’s concerns too. A whopping 73 per cent of voters in a new poll by Techne UK for the Sunday Express say they would like MPs to publish their full tax returns. Labour leader Keir Starmer says if he becomes prime minister, he, his deputy and chancellor would publish their tax returns in a sign “the swamp is being drained”.

That sounds awfully familiar.