The former Chancellor was hitting the headlines daily when he was running against Liz Truss to be the next PM. But after failing to turn up to the Conservative Party conference, many are asking where is Rishi Sunak now?
For a long time, Rishi Sunak held a high profile job in British government, with people all over the country scrutinising both his policies and his personal life, much like they have been asking who is Jeremy Hunt and who is Kwasi Kwarteng of his successors.
But since losing the Tory leadership contest, there has been little news of the former Chancellor. Much like people wondered where will Boris Johnson live after he resigned from his role in Number 10, many are now asking what has happened to Rishi Sunak.
Where is Rishi Sunak now?
Rishi Sunak is believed to be in his Richmond constituency in Yorkshire, where he lives with his wife - the fashion designer Akshata Murthy - and two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
Questions around Sunak's whereabouts were raised when he revealed that he would not be attending the Conservative party conference - along with other Senior Tories Sajid Javid, David Davis and Mel Stride. While no official reason has been given for Sunak not attending, many have speculated that it could be a sign of a lack of support for new PM Liz Truss.
EXC: Rishi Sunak will not attend Conservative Party conference. He’ll be in Yorkshire instead. Ally says former chancellor will give Truss all the space she needs to own the momentSeptember 28, 2022
Sunak was critical of Truss' plans to cut taxes during the Conservative leadership party contest, telling her during a TV debate that the UK will not be able to "borrow its way out of inflation".
Since the announcement of the new government's mini budget, several other Tory MPs have publicly criticised the Government's economic policy, with former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, telling the BBC that borrowing money to fund tax cuts was "not Conservative".
Is Rishi Sunak still in government?
Rishi Sunak is not longer in government. Previously, Sunak served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from February 2020 to July 2022, but he was one of the many ministers that resigned from Boris Johnson's government following the Chris Pincher scandal.
The role of Chancellor was then taken over by Nadhim Zahawi, until September 2022 when Liz Truss took up office as Prime Minister and appointed Kwasi Kwarteng to the role.
Though Sunak no longer has a place in government and lost the Conservative leadership race, he ruled out leaving politics, telling BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, "I am very committed to my constituents in North Yorkshire... and as long as they will have me I plan to keep serving them not just in the immediate future but also at the next election."
Thank you to everyone who voted for me in this campaign. I’ve said throughout that the Conservatives are one family. It’s right we now unite behind the new PM, Liz Truss, as she steers the country through difficult times.September 5, 2022
What role does Rishi Sunak have?
Rishi Sunak is still a Member of Parliament, and serves as the Conservative MP for Richmond, Yorkshire - a role which he has held since 2015.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the former chancellor told the programme that his job "now is just to support a Conservative government" - though he didn't rule out another run for PM in the future, adding that he would need time "to recover" from his previous campaign.
Video of the Week
