Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Historian Predicts Rishi Sunak May Return to Cabinet
Anthony Seldon has written a book about Rishi Sunak’s time as prime minister.
Sunak was prime minister from October 2022 to July 2024.
His Conservative Party lost many seats in the election that ended his leadership.
Seldon says Sunak faced a very difficult situation because the party was divided and other parties were gaining support.
He believes Sunak may return to government someday.
Seldon also thinks historians will be kinder to Sunak than many people are now.
He praises Sunak’s public service, international outlook, and interest in technology.
Some critics and Conservative supporters still blame Sunak for the party’s defeat.
Sunak remains a Conservative member of Parliament for Richmond in Yorkshire.
Historian Anthony Seldon says Rishi Sunak could have 25 years of public service ahead and may return as a cabinet minister.
Seldon argues history will judge Sunak more kindly than his contemporaries and says he inherited a deeply divided Conservative Party.
Sunak served as prime minister from 25 October 2022 until 5 July 2024, when Labour’s Keir Starmer replaced him.
The Conservatives lost 251 MPs in the 2024 general election, leaving the party with 121 Commons seats.
Seldon’s book, Sunak at 10: The Last Conservative Prime Minister?, draws on 200 interviews and assesses Sunak’s premiership.
- Who
- Historian Anthony Seldon assessed former prime minister Rishi Sunak in a book co-authored with Tom Egerton.
- What
- Seldon said Sunak could return as a cabinet minister and that history may judge his premiership favorably.
- When
- Sunak was prime minister from 25 October 2022 to 5 July 2024; Seldon’s comments were made around the launch of his book.
- Where
- The discussion was reported by Eastern Eye, with the book launch held at Daunt Books in Marylebone, London.
- Why
- Seldon believes Sunak still has significant public-service potential and was judged too harshly for leading the Conservatives during a difficult period.
Seldon’s assessment
Criticism of Sunak
Responsibility for the election defeat
Seldon’s assessment
Seldon argues that Sunak inherited a fractured party, faced a major challenge from Nigel Farage, and reduced the Conservatives’ polling deficit from about 30 percentage points to 10.
Criticism of Sunak
Seldon says Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her supporters, along with other contemporaries, have treated Sunak as the necessary person to blame for the defeat.
Sunak’s historical legacy
Seldon’s assessment
Seldon is convinced that historians will be much kinder to Sunak, citing his sense of service, international outlook, interest in technology, and work on the Windsor Framework.
Criticism of Sunak
The article notes that many people remain skeptical of Seldon’s positive interpretation, while the Conservatives’ post-Sunak polling was described as weaker than when Badenoch took over.
Future in public life
Seldon’s assessment
Seldon believes Sunak could return as a cabinet minister because Britain and the Conservative Party still need his talents and commitment to public service.
Criticism of Sunak
Sunak’s own next steps are uncertain; Seldon said Sunak had not yet fully worked through the experience of leaving Downing Street.
- Sunak’s premiership
- 25 October 2022 to 5 July 2024
- 2024 Conservative result
- The Conservatives lost 251 MPs and were reduced to 121 Commons seats.
- Book title
- Sunak at 10: The Last Conservative Prime Minister?
- Book authors
- Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton
- Research base
- A research team conducted 200 interviews with key figures.
- Book publisher
- Atlantic Books
- Current parliamentary role
- Sunak remains the Conservative MP for Richmond in Yorkshire.