Losing power and 251 Conservative-held seats in the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak does not have a great many reasons to be happy. Subsequent to the election on Thursday, the Labour Party, led by new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, has a powerful 174-seat majority.
Nonetheless, Sunak offered a striking example of political leadership and civility on Tuesday — an example that stands in stark contrast to the partisan petulance and arrogant selfishness offered by President Joe Biden and his Republican presidential challenger Donald Trump. Sunak, now the leader of the opposition, offered this example in response to Starmer’s welcome to new and returning parliamentarians.
“Congratulating the prime minister on his election victory,” Sunak observed that “as he takes on his formidable task, he and his family deserve the good wishes of all of us in this House. Now, in our politics, we can argue vigorously, as the prime minister and I did over the past six weeks, but still respect each other. And whatever disputes we may have in this Parliament, I know that everyone in this House will not lose sight of the fact that we are all motivated by our desire to serve our constituents, our country, and advance the principles that we honorably believe in.”
Can you imagine either Biden or Trump saying something like this? Moreover, note Sunak’s foundational point: that politicians have a responsibility to advance the interests of their constituents and their individual principles and to serve the country. Emphasizing this point, Sunak added that “to be sent to this place by one’s constituents is the greatest honor, privilege, and responsibility.” Again, can you imagine Biden or Trump stating that truth? Unfortunately, they seem to believe that power is their entitlement.
Sunak next took direct responsibility for the shellacking his party had just suffered. “I am sorry,” he said, adding that “our democracy is powerful, and as we have witnessed, it can be definitive.” But Sunak outlined his sense of responsibility for the new political moment: “Now we will take up the official role of His Majesty’s Official Opposition, professionally, effectively, and humbly.”
Next came a salute to Diane Abbott, now the longest-serving current female member of the House. Abbott is a far-left member of the Labour Party, far closer in ideology to former party leader Jeremy Corbyn than to Starmer. Yet Sunak was rightly warm, recognizing some things are more important than profound political disagreements. “We have our differences on policy,” he said. “But no one can deny the right honorable lady’s important role in this House and the inspiration for so many young women of color that she has provided. The lady is true in every sense of the world, a trailblazer.”
Finally, Sunak moved to congratulate the speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Unlike in the American political system, the speaker of the House of Commons is an elected member who pledges to supervise House proceedings in a fundamentally nonpartisan manner.
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Echoing similar sentiments from Starmer, Sunak praised Hoyle for the “confidence this House places in you.” Hoyle is widely respected across the various party benches in the Commons. Where Hoyle’s predecessor, John Bercow, chose to prioritize his own celebrity in office (and has only energized that pursuit subsequent to his departure from politics), Hoyle has prioritized his diligent service of the House and the democracy it represents.
In this speech, then, Sunak offered a dose of humility, respect, and ultimate confidence in British democracy. His primary message was clear: Parties can win and lose power, but the key point is that public service must ultimately be about, yes, serving the public and that partisan acrimony for acrimony’s sake is no ally to democracy.
Biden and Trump would do well to take note.