Anthony Seldon’s book on Rishi Sunak says he spent 619 days at Number 10 and left a more substantial record than he is often given credit for, even though he lost the general election. The assessment comes after a term that began in the autumn of 2022 and ended with Sunak leaving office.
Anthony Seldon on Rishi Sunak
Seldon, writing with Tom Egerton, says Sunak had many of the qualities a prime minister needs: “integrity, a powerful intellect, ferocious work ethic, attention to detail and calmness under pressure.” He also wrote: “One of the most elusive benefits a prime minister needs is luck. Sunak was fortunate to reach the top, but unlucky to reach it when he did.”
The book places that judgment beside the practical pressures Sunak faced. Claire Coutinho advised him in the autumn of 2022 not to seek the premiership, warning: “The country is a terrible mess, the party is in open rebellion, it’s going to be too hard to fix, you will lose the general election and the civil service will be looking to Labour who will win it.” Sunak still took office, then asked aides: “Why should I be beaten up for two years and then be beaten in the general election?”
Number 10 and Downing Street
The book says civil servants respected Sunak more than they respected Liz Truss or Boris Johnson, and describes his Number 10 team as cohesive and stable. It also says he asked officials to attend Zoom meetings at 10.30pm on a Sunday, a detail that fits the picture of a demanding boss who treated the job as relentless work rather than a brief interlude.
That same period included policy moves the book treats as part of his record rather than as isolated gestures. Sunak stabilised the economy after the mayhem of Liz Truss’s premiership, established the AI Safety Institute, and reached a deal with the EU over Northern Ireland that smoothed some of the jagged edges of Brexit.
Akshata and Whaps
The book also describes a more personal side of life around Downing Street. Akshata organised wives, husbands and partners nights known as Whaps, giving the story a domestic rhythm alongside the political one.
Sunak’s record is presented as mixed: the book credits him with prime ministerial qualities and several durable decisions, but it also says he arrived at the top at the wrong moment and ended up losing the general election. Labour later took up his anti-smoking initiative and enacted it, leaving one part of his agenda to outlast his time in office.
