Rishi Sunak has dismissed concerns over his role in Boris Johnson’s downfall when challenged that he “does not have a mandate” because he has not won a general or leadership election. Mr Sunak was speaking to ConHome in an interview aimed at party members as he gets ready for local elections next month.
Mr Sunak was asked about “the elephant in the room” which was the downfall of Mr Johnson last year with many Tory members still angry about the removbal of the Prime Minister.
He said: “The past is the past, we’ve got to look forward.”
Mr Sunak admitted that he had addressed the issue with a meeting of the Tory parliamentary party just before the Easter recess at a meeting of the 1922 Committee where he urged them to be unified.
He said: “A united party is a winning party. We are seeing the fruits of unity already.”
Mr Sunak sat down for a 45-minute interview with the Conservative Home website, taking questions from the site’s editor Paul Goodman and members of the Conservative Party.
Questions covered topics around housing, trans rights, healthcare, stopping small boats and his own personal motivation for being in politics.
