“If I may offer some words of advice to the opposition,” Sunak began, “On the government benches, life comes at you fast. You might soon find yourself tapped on the shoulder and offered a junior ministerial role.Then, you’ll be attending cabinet meetings. And before you know it, you could be in the cabinet itself.”
Sunak was drawing from his own experience, having risen from a junior treasury minister to chancellor in Boris Johnson’s government.
“And when the prime minister’s role becomes untenable, you might end up being called to the highest office,” Sunak said, eliciting laughs. “Before you know it, you have a bright future behind you and you’re left wondering if you can credibly be an elder statesman at the age of 44,” he joked.
A few more pointed out that Sunak was a different man since losing. Another pointed out: “Watch this and listen to the good humour and his sportsmanship after losing the election.” A third wrote: “Sunak showing remarkable poise and class so much in contrast to his two immediate predecessors as PM.”
Another user cheekily wrote: “Not being PM of a dying empire does wonders for one’s mood.”
However, another user pointed out: “Where the heck was all this charm and wit earlier, you ask? It was always there. Look at videos of his interaction with the Aussie PM during the Ashes, as an example. This is quite a lovely 30 seconds.”
The 2024 UK General Election resulted in a significant shift in political power. The Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, faced a major defeat as voters expressed their dissatisfaction with the current government. In the 2024 UK general election, the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, secured 33.7% of the popular vote, up from 32.9% in 2019. This translated to 411 seats in the House of Commons, a significant increase from their previous 202 seats in 2019. This result granted Labour a substantial majority in Parliament, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.