Akshata Murty’s speech at Tory conference was a bold move that humanised Rishi Sunak
There were no big surprises in the prime minister’s speech at the Conservative Party conference; the big policy announcements had all been thoroughly leaked to the media in advance. But he did have one secret weapon – in the form of his wife, Akshata Murty.
She stepped out on stage in a bright coral suit and heels, a pop of colour against the blue backdrop – beaming across at the delegates and describing herself as “a bit of a surprise addition… and a surprise for my husband too, who has no idea what I’m going to say”.
Number 10 insist this was the case; that Mr Sunak, a man who prides himself on being across the detail of everything, had been left in the dark about the contents of her speech, which we’re told she had written herself.
Mrs Murty is not usually someone who seeks out the limelight, scalded no doubt by the row over her non-dom status and fabulous wealth as the daughter of an Indian billionaire.
Indeed, the controversy surrounding her tax status, when it was uncovered in 2022, was widely believed to have derailed her husband’s hopes of ever standing for the leadership.
She does now pay UK tax on her international earnings, but it’s an ever-present reminder of her status as one of the true global elite, and regularly weaponised by Labour at PMQs to paint her husband as impossibly detached from the reality of the cost of living crisis for ordinary working people.
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But ahead of possibly the biggest speech of her husband’s life – team Sunak decided to take a gamble that the combination of her loving personal tribute and the star power of her glamorous appearance would enhance, rather than detract from the prime minister.
She was impeccably dressed in a £612 jacket and trousers from the British brand The Fold, a favourite of the Princess of Wales.
Mr Sunak is a self-confessed geek, a technocrat whose speeches can sometimes appear robotic or patronising; after days of criticism for his “tetchy” response to questioning about the HS2 decision, he badly needed humanising, and his wife’s introduction painted a very different picture.
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Akshata Murty introduces the PM
The speech was personal and glowing with praise for her ‘best friend’ – “he is fun, he is thoughtful, he is compassionate and has an incredible zest for life”.
Watching offstage, the prime minister seemed quite emotional as Mrs Murty took us back to the early days of their meeting at university in America at the age of 24, and the challenges of long-distance relationships.
But the personal swiftly segued into the political here, as she claimed that she wasn’t attracted by his appearance, but his “deep love” for the UK and “his sincere desire to ensure that as many people as possible had the chance to have the opportunities that he was lucky enough to have”.
After a slightly wobbly start when she seemed unclear about which microphone to use, it was a confident, sweet performance, with jokes about her husband’s love of cheesy romcoms, but not Emily in Paris. Delegates in the hall seemed to lap it up, and she was mobbed on her exit almost as enthusiastically as her husband afterwards.
“Murty’s speech reinforces Sunak as a family man and shows that they are a unit with stability, something which I think many members and voters will be pleased to see,” said political communications consultant Laura Dunn. “It was a bold move.”
But it’s a highly unusual move for a British political leader. The last, and only time a prime minister has been introduced in their spouse was in 2009, when Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah memorably described her embattled husband as “my hero”.
But at the 2010 election just months later he suffered a devastating defeat. For some watching, the parallels were clear: turning to Mrs Murty was a sign of weakness, with an implication that the PM needed to borrow some of his wife’s sparkle to make up for his own lack of charisma.
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The prime minister was introduced by his wife and ‘best friend’
Denis Thatcher – Norma Major – Cherie Booth – Samantha Cameron – Philip May – Hugh O’Leary – all were happy to stay in the background.
Even media appearances have had a chequered history: Philip May gave a joint interview with The One Show which was widely criticised for Mrs May’s division of “blue jobs” and “pink jobs” and him taking the bins out (“a traditional boy job”).
But there are signs Downing Street have been moving towards a more confident public role for the PM’s wife for some time.
She made high profile appearances on his recent trip to India for the G20 – understandable perhaps, given her own citizenship, but it was seen as fairly successful. Mr Sunak said “it was lovely to have her with him” and praised her help in building relationships with other leaders and their spouses.
Last month she gave her first television interview to the Sky Kids programme, FYI, in which she described the power struggle between the family dog Nova and Larry the cat, and talked about the “range of opportunities” that she’d been exposed to since moving into Number 10.
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Akshata Murty: Larry the Cat v Sunak dog
Mrs Murty’s own parents clearly have a close working relationship and partnership; her mother, Sudha helped her husband Narayana to establish the IT firm Infosys, which made their fortune, and they continue to work together on philanthropic projects.
Sudha Murty hit the headlines earlier this year after commenting that behind every successful man there stands a woman – and boasting that while she had made her husband into a successful businessman (and one of India’s richest men) “my daughter has made her husband prime minister of the UK”.
In America, political spouses are always much more prominent, and it’s typical for candidates to be introduced by husbands or wives celebrating their personal qualities.
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But from Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to Hillary Clinton – the role of presidential first lady is much more political, and high profile, than the partner of the UK prime minister. Clinton of course went on to become secretary of state and to seek the presidency herself.
It doesn’t seem that that’s what Mrs Murty is after. But Number 10 say the pair have an “extremely strong partnership” and she is clearly determined to do what she can to help in his uphill battle to stay in Downing Street after the next general election.
“Gatecrashing” her husband’s speech livened up the culmination of a fractious Tory party conference and provided a new insight into what had previously been a relatively private relationship.
And while amongst political opponents the spotlight on Mrs Murty has reignited the conversation about the couple’s vast personal wealth; the gambit here is on getting general voters to look at the PM in a new light.
Going by the number of newspaper headlines her appearance has generated – it’s certainly done that.
The teacher of one of the Southport stabbing victims has told Sky News they “don’t want her to be forgotten”, 10 months after the knife attack in which she was murdered.
Seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe was killed along with Bebe King, six, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar in an attack by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July.
Jennifer Sephton, headteacher of Farnborough Road Infant School, will be skydiving to raise funds for the Elsie’s Story charitable trust, which has been set up in memory of the former pupil.
(L-R) Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King were killed in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed class
“She’d been with us for four years, throughout her education,” Ms Sephton told Sky News, “and we just want everybody to know Elsie’s spirit.”
Describing Elsie as “such a determined young lady,” Ms Sephton said Elsie had “a real zest for life, and a sparkle in her eye all the time.”
She added that Elsie’s Story, which has been set up by Elsie’s family, is about “continuing that legacy.”
Jennifer Sephton
In the aftermath of the July 2024 attack, the gates outside Elsie’s school were lined with flowers, balloons, and cards bearing her name.
Since then, memorial benches and a tree have been planted in the school grounds, providing pupils and staff with a place to “remember and reflect”, Ms Sefton says.
“[Elsie’s death] had such an impact on all our community,” the teacher said, “it’s had an impact on her friends, their siblings, our school as a community and our staff.”
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Adrian Antell
‘We want her name to live on’
Ms Sephton will be joined in the skydive by Adrian Antell, headteacher at the adjoining junior school where Elsie had been due to start.
“Elsie was due to come to us last September,” he told Sky News, “but what we’ve learned about her is that she had a wonderful impact in the infant school, and we don’t want her to be forgotten.
“We want her name to have to live on and to be thought of in a positive way.”
Mr Antell said they continue to support Elsie’s classmates, who joined the new school without her.
“There’s no instruction manual for this,” he explained, “every day is different, and every day is one step at a time.
“So all we can do as a school is to think about individual children and support them in the best way we can.”
Scientists from Kew Gardens are using a new study to track which trees bees prefer to try to stem the decline in our vital pollinators.
Bee populations are falling all over the world due to a mixture of habitat loss, climate change, and the use of pesticides, with a devastating impact on our biodiversity and food production.
But it’s feared that not enough comprehensive, global research is being done to understand the issue or find solutions.
The study is building up heat maps of the most popular trees
Non-invasive monitors track the buzz created by bees’ wing beats
UK becoming a no-fly zone
Researchers based at Wakehurst in Sussex, known as Kew’s “Wild Botanic Garden”, have begun placing advanced bio-acoustics sensors in some of their trees to track which ones bees favour.
They hope it’ll help urban planners know which trees to plant in built-up areas, as a way of combating the worrying decline in bee numbers.
Pollination research lead Dr Janine Griffiths-Lee said: “Nearly 90% of our flowering plants depend on the contribution of pollinators, but in the UK the population of flying insects in the last 20 years has decreased by around 60%.
“It’s really hard to be able to put a figure on the decline of our pollinators, but we do know that globally the number is declining.
“And with that comes crop yield instability and the loss of an essential ecosystem service.”
Their new, non-invasive monitors listen for the buzz created by bees’ wing beats, building up heat maps of the most popular spots.
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Bio-acoustics sensors are placed in trees to track which ones the bees are more drawn to
‘We’re facing twin crises’
Dr Griffiths-Lee said: “If you think about the tree’s footprint, it’s very small, but they’re huge 3D structures covered in pollen and nectar, which are essential resources of pollinators.
“So we really wanted to think about which are the best trees for bees for us to plant, and that can inform landscape planners, urban architects.”
Eight different species of tree were chosen for the study, including horse chestnut and lime trees, with a mixture of native and non-native species.
The scientists have also been gathering DNA from pollen, which also helps them to map which plants and flowers the insects prefer.
Wakehurst’s director, Susan Raikes, calls the 535-acre estate a “living laboratory”, and said the project’s all about searching for nature-based solutions to the impacts of climate change.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher, really. We know that we’re facing these twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change,” she added.
“We need to be able to understand, as the climate changes, which plants from warmer climes will be good here in the UK for pollinators in the future.
“If all of our native plants are struggling, then we need to find new sources of pollen – for us all to survive.”
Football pundit Gary Neville is to miss coverage of the Premier League finale on Sunday after being banned by Nottingham Forest, whose owner he recently criticised.
Neville had been due to commentate on Forest’s game against Chelsea on Sky Sports, which is being billed as a Champions League qualification shoot-out with both teams aiming for a top five finish.
But posting on Instagram, the former Manchester United and England defender said the broadcaster told him on Thursday that Forest “would not give me an accreditation or access to the stadium as a co-commentator”.
“I’ve had no choice but to withdraw from the coverage,” he added.
“I’ve dished out my fair share of criticism and praise in the last 14 years of doing this job and have never come close to this unprecedented action.”
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis (R) with manager Nuno Espirito Santo after the Premier League match against Leicester. Pic: Sky Sports News/PA
Sky backs Neville’s decision
Neville said while Forest “have every right to choose who they let into their own stadium”, it was “disappointing that a great club […] have been reduced to making such a decision”.
He said “it’s symptomatic of things that have happened over the last 12 months with the club”.
Sky Sports described Forest’s move as “an unprecedented and unwelcome step” and said it has decided “to present the game from Sky Studios in west London.
“As he was no longer able to commentate from the ground, Gary has chosen to not be part of the coverage on Sunday – a decision fully supported by Sky.”
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Neville has been highly critical of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
He described Marinakis walking on to the pitch and exchanging words with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after the club’s draw with Leicester earlier this month as “scandalous”.
Neville urged Nuno to quit the club and his social media post further enraged Marinakis, who had threatened Sky with legal action over comments made by the pundit earlier in the season.
After Forest’s 2-0 defeat at Everton last year, the club issued a statement on social media questioning the integrity of video assistant referee Stuart Atwell after claiming they had been denied three penalties.
Neville’s response to that, comparing Forest’s actions to those of a “mafia gang”, prompted an apology from Sky after they had been contacted by Marinakis’ lawyers.
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