Rishi Sunak’s inevitable move to California appears to be edging closer after the former prime minister took up a role at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute.
The MP for Richmond and Northallerton, who led the party to its worst-ever defeat last year, has a home on the West Coast of the United States and has been linked with a move on more than one occasion.
Rumours circulated last year that his wife, Akshata Murty, had been telling Sajid Javid’s wife that she wants to move to California at the soonest opportunity.
And now, he has even more of an excuse to pack up his bags and hightail to the US of A.
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He has announced that he was “delighted” to take up posts at Oxford University and Stanford University’s Hoover Institute, saying:
“Oxford and Stanford shaped my life, and I look forward to contributing to their world-class work addressing the challenges and the technological opportunities of our time.”
It is understood Sunak’s new roles at Oxford Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Stanford are unpaid but will receive expenses from the Hoover Institute.
Condoleezza Rice, the former US secretary of state and current director of the Hoover Institution, welcomed his appointment, saying Mr Sunak’s “extensive policy and global experience will enrich our fellowship and help to define important policies moving forward”.
She said: “The United States and the UK share a very special bond, and we look forward to the impact of his work on the many challenges facing democracies and the world in years to come.”
Addressing rumours of a move at his final PMQs in October, Sunak said: “I’m happy to confirm reports that I will now be spending more time in the greatest place where the scenery is indeed worthy of a movie set and everyone is a character. That’s right, if anyone needs me, I will be in Yorkshire.”
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