Rishi Sunak's daughters 'more excited' by national service than maths plan
Rishi Sunak gave his daughters' thoughts on his national service policy during a campaign event.
Rishi Sunak has admitted his teenage daughters are more excited by his national service policy than proposals to learn mathematics until 18. The Prime Minister and wife Akshata Murthy have two daughters Krishna,11, and Anoushka, nine.
When asked if his daughters were looking forward to doing national service, he said: “I think my daughters are definitely more excited than they were when I announced maths to 18, I can tell you that.
“[This was a] much easier conversation than that [maths] conversation was So, yes. I'm a dad, right? And so I do this first and foremost as a dad knowing full well that if I'm successful my daughters will do it and I'm really excited for them to do it.
"Lots of people do volunteering without this, but I think doing it in this way, something that the whole country a whole generation does together, will be transformative. It will be good for them, be good for everyone that they spend time with us as a result.
“So I'm really, really excited for them to have the opportunity to do it.”
In January 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak set out his priorities for 2023 and announced all children and young people will study maths in some form to 18.
Staff at a china factory earlier asked for more detail about Mr Sunak’s plans for a new national service scheme, under which 18-year-olds would be asked to serve in the military for 12 months or take part in monthly volunteer activities.
One employee, Dawn, said her sons, who are “more brawn than brain”, would benefit from the scheme,
The Prime Minister toured Churchill China in Stoke-on-Trent during the campaign visit to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands.
Mr Sunak was handed a paintbrush during a stop on the factory floor, and witnessed a spinning matte white plate in front of him turn a glossy light blue colour at his touch, which workers described as cornflower.
He then daubed the rim of the plate with a brown shade and flecked it with similar brown speckles before sending it down a conveyor belt.
Jonathan Gullis, a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party and MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, joined the Prime Minister for the walk around the building.
Other local Tory MPs, Aaron Bell (Newcastle under Lyme) and Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) were present for the question and answer session with staff.
Jade Burden, who works in HR at the company, asked if Mr Sunak has a “plan to look after people in the future when they have then left the forces” following the scheme.
He replied that he wants the UK to be the “best country in the world to be a veteran”, and pointed to veterans minister Johnny Mercer’s place at the Cabinet table.
