Bets off on Rishi Sunak being next Prime Minister amid tax row

Punters have turned their back on Rishi Sunak’s chances of being the next Prime Minister, a betting firm has revealed, as pressure continues to mount on the chancellor after his wife was forced to change her tax arrangements.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak alongside his wife Akshata Murthy.

Betting firm BoyleSports said that Mr Sunak’s chances of succeeding Boris Johnson had dropped, with foreign secretary Liz Truss equalling him in terms of odds to become the next leader.

Mr Sunak has faced claims of hypocrisy in 11 Downing Street after it was revealed his wife Akshata Murty does not pay UK tax on overseas income as a non-domiciled UK resident.

Speculation on potential replacements for Mr Johnson has been shaken up in recent days, with Liz Truss falling into 6/1 from 10/1 to be the next Tory leader, making her a joint favourite in the betting with Mr Sunak, who has been pushed out to 6/1 from 5/2.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has also made a move up to 12/1 from 33/1, while Labour leader Keir Starmer has been backed down to 10/3 favourite from 11/2 to be the next PM.

Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “Rishi Sunak was all the rage in the next PM betting at one stage as he enjoyed a surge in popularity, seemingly off the back of his pandemic response measures. But the support has totally dried up in recent days and they’re turning to Liz Truss as a future leader instead, so we’ve had to slash her odds for Number 10 as a result.”

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