He rightly points out that it's his job to make hard choices - for example, funding the defence budget even if it's at the expense of schools and hospitals.īut a political leader should also know that what follows is an even harder job: to cajole the electorate into supporting that choice - and the voters aren't always governed by the logic of the computer. Unfortunately, as Enoch Powell once pointed out, a politician who complains about journalists is like a sailor who doesn't much fancy being at sea. He betrays frustration with what he - not wholly unjustifiably - sees as a media obsession with polls and presentation. However, in the political world he chose, there's a downside to being highly intelligent, disciplined, and super-focused on delivery, as they might say in California. It's easy to see why he shone in Silicon Valley and thrived in the Treasury. He's keen to show his detailed grasp of the situation, whether that's welfare reform, defence or migration. That Peloton and fasting regime are clearly doing their job.

Sitting down to interview him in a state-of-the-art defence facility this week, I could still see the same energetic, likeable problem solver that I met back then, even if he's now surrounded by the prime ministerial cavalcade of aides, security and media. I've known Rishi Sunak slightly for almost a decade, having first met him after he penned a thoughtful, comprehensive, well-received report on Britain's minority communities, which I'd say is still the best of its kind.

Open whatsapp on my phone