Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak – who resigned from the cabinet in minutes to protest Boris Johnson’s leadership style – appear like political allies, but they are also good friends.
Both rose from humble beginnings to become successful in investment banking before they entered politics.
They also share a love for Star Wars and have not been ashamed to show it.
After losing a power battle with Dominic Cummings (the former advisor to Mr Johnson), Mr Javid quit as chancellor in February 2020. He tweeted: “The Force Is Strong in Young Sunak.”
A little over a year ago, while he was still number 2 to Mr Javid at Treasury, Mr Sunak posted a picture of him and Mr Javid at the cinema where they had just seen The Rise of Skywalker.
Mr Sunak wrote, “Great night out with boss Jedi Master.”
They are ideological soulmates and see themselves as part of the Conservative Party’s low-tax and high-spending Thatcherite wing.
Despite the fact that the tax burden has risen to unprecedented levels during his tenure, Mr Sunak made an unusual promise to reduce income tax before the next general elections.
The 42-year-old former chancellor writes that Boris Johnson’s approach to the economy is fundamentally different to his. This suggests that the PM is not willing to make the difficult decisions necessary to save the economy.
52-year-old Mr Javid also considers himself a fiscal conservative. He warned repeatedly about the dangers associated with rising inflation and the magnitude of the national debt before he was appointed health secretary last year.
He was like Mr Sunak and was almost at the top of his game from the moment that he entered Parliament in 2009. In 2009, the two men were once referred to as the Tony Blair or Gordon Brown of Conservative Party.
Born in Rochdale to a family of first-generation immigrants, Mr Javid was said to be the son of a bus conductor and a Pakistani villager. He arrived in Britain in 1961 with PS5 in his name.
His background was more secure. His father was a doctor and his mother ran the pharmacy. He attended Winchester School for a fee before embarking on a lucrative career in banking and hedge fund management.
He was elected to Parliament in 2015. At the time, he was seen briefly as the frontrunner for Boris Johnson’s position as Conservative leader.
However, his arrest for not attending Johnson’s birthday celebration during lockdown and revelations about Johnson’s tax affairs have ended that dream. He wrote his resignation, saying: “I recognize that this may be the last job I have as a minister.”
In the coming days, we will find out if this is a false modesty by the ex-chancellor or if he and his Star Wars fans are truly a wasted Force.
