Rishi Sunak lost, but his eyes are on the future

Indian-origin British politician and former chancellor Rishi Sunak lost the race to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. Sunak, who was dominating the race in the initial phase of campaigning lost out on his PM bid due to his waning support both inside and outside the Conservative Party.
Liz Truss, the third woman to become the prime minister of Britain was elected after defeating Rishi Sunak with 81,326 votes to 60,399 among party members. 

After the result was announced, Rishi Sunak referred the Conservatives as "one family" and gave a call to unite behind Liz Truss as "she leads the country through difficult times".

He has now lost, but what could be the reason behind it? Was it because of his ethnicity and religion?  Maybe, but it wasn't the dominating, decisive factor for why he lost, but it may have added to everything else. 

Britain as a country has changed phenomenally over the years. The days when Blacks and Asians were disparaged as "wogs" and "nig-nogs," respectively are long gone. The question of whether Britain is becoming a "post-racial" society or if institutional racism and colonialist attitudes are still present is still up for debate with evidence for all sides.

This is why the real reasons for Sunak's loss lie elsewhere. If there's a fault, then it is not much in him or in his personality, but it is due to his reluctance and unwillingness to offer the British people what they think they want.

The most obvious justification is Sunak's view on taxation. The Tory government is a low-tax party. However, Sunak as chancellor raised taxes substantially and only talked about lowering them after the inflation was under control. Truss, on the other hand, pledged a major reduction right from the outset of her leadership as prime minister. She thinks tax reductions will boost spending, increase tax revenues, and revive the economy.

Most economists and Londoners agree that Sunak's strategy is the best and the most feasible, but the people of the Conservative Party are very different and hold quite diverse opinions. Truss's message seemed to be better directed to them, their needs and wants and increased her popularity amongst the conservative vote base. Since they were the voters and found Truss's views better, they supported her enthusiastically and she won. 

People's perception that he was responsible for bringing down Johnson was another factor in their decision to vote against him. After Boris Johnson resigned facing a slew of scandals, Rishi Sunak too quit the government, saying that the "public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously". Sunak could have paid a price for being one of the first to resign. Truss, on the other hand remained a steadfast supporter of Johnson and might have benefited.

Soon after he quit the government, Rishi Sunak uploaded his campaign video 'Ready for Rishi', which made some Tory leaders believe that he brought down the Boris Johnson-led government for his personal ambitions and to further his interests.
A YouGov poll found that one in five Tory members had a negative opinion of Rishi Sunak because of his role in the ouster of Boris Johnson.

Although the Tories initially backed his decision to resign as chancellor (57%) a survey conducted at the beginning of August revealed that at least 51% of Conservative members disagreed with his choice.

A third explanation may lie in Sunak's style, demeanour and attitude. In different and seemingly insignificant ways, this could have been an issue. At the first debate, people thought he was arrogant and many accused him of mansplaining. His wealth has been a topic of discussion for the past six weeks. No doubt, he answered them politely and effectively, the issue did not die. 

According to the Daily Telegraph, Sunak's team began to fear that things were going out of their control because of his constant references to California. Sunak was open about his admiration for California's entrepreneurial culture.

Truss has unquestionably garnered popular support and as things stand out, the current indications also suggest that she could lose to Labour's Kier Starmer in 2024, which would open the door for Sunak to compete again.