When outgoing Prime Minister stood on the steps of to address the nation one final time this day, it was his woman, wearing a stunning mathematical red, white and blue layered clothing, who the camcorder loved.
A £390 Lina gown from moral style house Omi Na Na and towering light heels, Akshata Murty, 44, chose to wear the eye-catching flamenco-esque dress more as a statement of intent than a bow up quietly clothes.
As she took her husband’s side, and they walked away from the home they’ve shared for the last 18 months since Sunak’s rise to power in October 2022, Murty might even have had a flower in her move.
The multi- millionaire, said to be fair £500 million thanks to her father’s self- made fortune, has had to ring down her wealth during her time at Number 10- but now the shackles of her husband’s job have been released, may Murty use her new international platform to launch a fashion empire?
The former prime minister’s wife, who is also the family of the couple’s two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, may find herself wearing couture once more, having ditched it in open a charge to be more attractive to Conservative voters over the past year.
What’s clear is that Murty already has the trend savoir faire to pursue another past’ American first lady’, Samantha Cameron, into the world of design. In 2017, Mrs. Cameron established her brand, Cefinn.
Murty attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles as a student.
She even once had a fashion label, Akshata Designs, that she could reinvent now she has the world watching. She and Rishi first started dating in her early years, and she launched the business in 2007.
The label intended to celebrate Indian culture, discovering artists in remote villages and working with them and their designs to create her own.
She later told Vogue, “I’m about the story behind a particular garment, it’s authenticity, craftsmanship, and protecting a rich heritage.” I care about doing something in India, for India because it’s part of our family’s DNA.’
However, the business venture fell flat and collapsed after just three years.
She has recently abandoned the “quiet luxury” she first gained notoriety for when Rishi was Chancellor of the Exchequer. Murty would not have thought twice about running in a pair of JW Anderson slippers, which cost nearly $600.
When the cost of living crisis began raging under the Tories’ watch though, Murty turned to the British High Street for public appearances, donning sensible shirts and jumpers from middle class mums’ favourite Boden.
Additionally, her election wardrobe included a £225 striped midi dress from Jigsaw that she first wore in October of that year prior to the Conference as well as a £34 Boden shirt, which she had previously unveiled in May of that year.
Despite being a daughter of a billionaire, Akshata has waxed lyrical about how she likes the ‘simple’ ‘everyday things’ in life.
Speaking to the Times last month, she revealed she ‘rarely’ gets recognised and often walks the family Labrador in St. James’ Park.
She said, “I go to Tesco or the little Sainsbury’s or I visit the M&S in Victoria.”
It was a very different story before Rishi came to power though, the heiress was previously known for wearing designer ensembles that top fashion experts claim would have given Jackie Kennedy a run for her money.
With the title of Britain’s one-time “first lady” forever on her CV and millions of dollars in spare change to fire a pet project, Murty may yet overshadow her husband’s accomplishments if she starts the fashion empire that many people believe she’s interested in starting.
The billionaire heiress and is said to be wealthier than King Charles due to her £430 million stake in her father’s IT empire.
N. R. Narayana Murthy, the founder of the multinational Indian IT company Infosys, is the daughter of Akshata.
In addition, Sudha, her mother, who was once a chair on the board of Infosys, is an educator and philanthropist.
In July 2023, Ms Murty was named Britain’s best dressed person and compared to Jackie O.
The list, which included the businesswoman and fashion designer, was compiled by Tatler magazine alongside the likes of the actor’s husband and actor.
Chandler Tregaskes, Tatler style editor, said: ‘Her stream of’ It’ ensembles would have given Jackie Kennedy a run for her money…
‘Mrs Sunak is a shining example of modern- day diplomatically decadent dressing that steals the show.’
FEMAIL Akshata’s image is “fashion focused and forward,” according to celebrity stylist Rochelle White.
She said, “She tends to wear bold and statement-making clothing and accessories,” which I believe is true.
She will naturally have an eye for color palettes, styles, and trend pieces that she can wear because of her work in fashion and I feel that is a big part of her and her personality.
‘I think she is also aware that eyes are on her and makes conscious decisions about what she is wearing and even in some cases who.’
A French right-wing pin-up, a billionaire heiress, and a straight-talking NHS worker congratulate their political heavyweight partners as Sir Keir Starmer triumphs overwhelmingly.
Last Sunday evening, as England scraped through to the quarter finals after enacting an extraordinary last- minute turnaround to beat Slovakia, Rishi Sunak tweeted: ‘It’s not over until it’s over’- but it is now.
After the Labour Party won a landslide in the 2024 General Election, Sir Keir Starmer will travel to where King Charles will invite him to form a government this afternoon.
It was an unusual campaign in which his wife and the mother of his two children, Vic Starmer, didn’t appear often on the trail as a ‘reluctant political spouse’ as she has previously been dubbed.
Nonetheless she has fought off competition to become the UK’s incoming First Lady, and will now accompany Sir Keir as he and his family move into 10 Downing Street.
Political spouses will be present to express their party’s leaders wherever they are, from those whose parties suffered significant defeats last night to those whose results consistently outperform even the most optimistic poll predictions.
The partners of some of our most prominent politicians could not be more different, from a billionaire heiress to an IT fortune to a ‘sassy’ NHS worker who began her relationship with her husband via a scrappy phone call- and the carer who looks after her disabled son full time.
FEMAIL examines the women behind the men of the hour, who tirelessly supported their partners during a grueling election campaign.
Lady Victoria Starmer: The ‘sassy’ wife and reluctant political spouse who will keep her job in the NHS after moving.
Joining Sir Keir in Downing Street will be his wife of 14 years, Lady Victoria Starmer.
The former lawyer, who now works in occupational health for the, mostly avoids the campaign trial while guiding her 16-year-old son through his GCSEs.
In an interview with LBC Sir Keir said she had been helping to provide their children an ‘environment where to study calmly.’
Mrs. Starmer’s desire to avoid the political limelight contrasts with Akshata Murty’s wife’s more public role, which she took part in at several significant occasions, including the manifesto launch.
Speaking during an LBC radio call- in event, Sir Keir described his wife to host Nick Ferrari as ‘very plain speaking and very down to earth’ and ‘very supportive.’
Asked why she was not more often in the public eye, the leader said: ‘Vic does quite a bit with me, but during this campaign two things: One, she is working at the NHS in a hospital.’
Our boy has been taking his GCSEs, and I don’t make a lot of that up, so we made the decision to choose the place where he could study calmly while we were out and about driving.
Sir Keir, who is also very private about his family life, would also not be drawn into saying whether he would move his children into Downing Street if Labour wins the- nonetheless, the couple’s private life has occasionally come into focus.
Ms. Starmer, who is known affectionately as Lady Victoria, was born in Poland and has a Jewish mother who later reverted to Judaism.
The family continues to observe the tradition of Friday night dinners at home and attends’ Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John’s Wood, Sir Keir told The Jewish Chronicle in March 2021.
Born and raised in London, Ms. Starmer grew up in Gospel Oak in the north of the capital, near where the couple now lives with their two children.
In the early 2000s, she met Sir Keir, who he claimed was a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, while he was a solicitor.
They married in 2007 and and now live in a £1.75 million townhouse in Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency.
Later, Ms. Starmer made the decision to concentrate on her work as a school governor and in the NHS. Despite Sir Keir’s new role as Prime Minister, she plans to continue her NHS work, which she loves, according to her husband.
Unlike the wives of previous prime ministers, Mrs Starmer has made few public appearances.
She was present at Labour’s conference in 2021 and took part in the Battle of Britain 80th anniversary service in 2020.
A Labour insider described Ms. Starmer as being “quite sassy” and “unbothered by what Keir is doing.”
They added: ‘If he ever gets into Downing Street, she’s going to be very much leading her own life. They have a great dynamic- she spends quite a lot of time taking the mickey out of him because he can be so serious.’
The nation watches closely as Sir takes office, hoping for new direction and leadership after years of Conservative rule.
Meanwhile, the Starmer family’s approach to public and private life will undoubtedly bring a fresh dynamic to Downing Street.
Ms. Starmer has also taken a few different roles throughout her career, but they all look slightly different from Akshata Murty’s millions.
Vic began her career as a solicitor, and met her husband during her time in law.
Alongside her legal role, Vic also took on a position mentoring deprived children, according to the Guardian.
It was reported that she had taken on the governorship of her children’s school in Kentish Town in 2015.
However, in recent years Vic has moved away from law and is no longer listed in the Solicitors Regulation Authority as a practicing solicitor.
Instead, she has switched to the NHS’s occupational health division.
Sir Keir has previously revealed his wife is a sounding board for his health and public services policies.
He told the Mirror: ‘She loves working for the NHS. She adores the team she’s collaborating with.’
He added: ‘I get a direct line of sight on a daily basis into the challenges of the NHS and the morale of the staff.’
Victoria’s first encounter with her ex-husband Keir is not quite as romantic as Rishi and Akshata’s fairytale love.
In fact, the Labour leader often jokes that the pair didn’t get off on the right foot- to the point where Vic swore about him during their first interaction.
At the time, Vic was working as a solicitor and Keir was a QC. Keir called her at work one day to ask questions about the documents he had been given because he had never spoken with her before.
Recalling the call on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2021, Keir said: ‘I was doing a case in court and it all depended on whether the documents were accurate.’
When I asked my coworkers who were actually creating these documents, they said a woman called Victoria, so I said, “Let’s get her on the line.”
As he continued to question her over technical details in the documents and their accuracy, he sensed her becoming more and more agitated- to the point where he heard her mutter: ‘Who the f*** does he think he is?’
However, the human rights barrister eventually managed to win over the solicitor, and the pair had their first date in the Lord Stanley pub in Camden.
The couple got married on the Fennes Estate in Essex a few years later, in 2007. They share two children, 15- year- old Toby and a 12- year- old daughter whose name has never been made public.
Akshata Murty, a billionaire heiress who raised her family Labrador in St James’ Park, is a fashion heir.
When Rishi Sunak and his wife moved into Downing Street in 2022, they became the richest couple ever to have occupied its halls- but much of that wealth came from Akshata.
The 44- year- old is a billionaire heiress and is said to be wealthier than due to her £430 million stake in her father’s IT empire.
N. R. Narayana Murthy, the founder of the multinational Indian IT company Infosys, is the daughter of Akshata.
In addition, Sudha, her mother, who was once a chair on the board of Infosys, is an educator and philanthropist.
Akshata and her brother Rohan were born and raised in Jayanagar, a Bangalore suburb. She studied in India until university, when she moved to the US and attended Claremont McKenna College in, before moving on to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and later, Stanford University.
Despite being a daughter of a billionaire, Akshata recently revealed she likes the ‘simple’ ‘everyday things’ in life.
She revealed in a Times interview that she “rarely” gets recognized and frequently walks her family Labrador in St. James’ Park.
‘I go to or the little or I go to the in Victoria,’ she said.
Akshata moved to the US to finish her studies and received a diploma from the LA Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
In her earliest years with Rishi, she pursued a career in fashion and set up her own business in 2007, Akshata Designs.
The label intended to celebrate Indian culture, discovering artists in remote villages and working with them and their designs to create her own.
She told Vogue, “I’m about the story behind a particular garment; it’s authenticity, craftsmanship, and protecting a rich heritage.” I care about doing something in India, for India because it’s part of our family’s DNA.’
However, after only three years, her business venture failed and ended.
Despite this, Akshata has not shied away from business ventures and has held stakes in business over the years including the family empire, Infosys and a project she and Rishi set up together, Catamaran Ventures UK.
She has also been linked to Pizzeria and Etonian tailor, New & Lingwood.
Akshata was a director of the UK division of Soroco, which her brother Rohan co-founded, as of 2022.
Shortly after she moved into 10 Downing Street, Akshata started a public Instagram profile, on which she shared more information about public appearances and visits she carried out in her capacity as first lady.
She even shared a selfie from the concert while also meeting other world leaders and their partners during official state visits and playing with students in public spaces.
She has also shared glimpses into family life with Rishi, their two daughters Krishna and Anoushka, and the family dog Nova.
A notable guest hosted by Akshata during her time in Downing Street was Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.
As the pair cut powerful figures, Akshata was dressed in blue, one of the colors on the Ukrainian flag, as they walked outside the door to the prime minister’s residence.
They waved to the world’s press outside the home while holding hands, in a show of unity while remains under siege from’s forces since the 2022 invasion.
Due to her “non dom” status, Ms. Murty’s entry into public life attracted a lot of scrutiny, particularly in her exceptional wealth and tax affairs.
However what she may not have expected was a backlash over her outfits.
Akshata’s earliest appearances in the public eye saw her opting for very expensive pieces, including a £1, 000 leather skirt and a pair of slippers costing £570.
Some people who thought her style was “out of touch” with the typical woman in Britain criticized her fashion choices.
Since then, Akshata has altered her choices- opting for more upmarket high street brands.
FEMAIL Akshata’s image is “fashion focused and forward,” according to celebrity stylist Rochelle White.
She said, “She tends to wear bold and statement-making clothing and accessories,” which I believe is true.
She will naturally have an eye for color palettes, styles, and trend pieces that she can wear because of her work in fashion and I feel that is a big part of her and her personality.
‘I think she is also aware that eyes are on her and makes conscious decisions about what she is wearing and even in some cases who.’
Emily Gasson: The Lib Dem candidate who looks after her disabled son and met her husband campaigning
Emily Gasson is active in politics, meeting her husband Ed Davery through the party, unlike Victoria and Akshata.
In fact, the mother- of- two has even run to be an MP before, standing in North Dorset in 2005, while also being listed on the London- wide candidate list for the 2016 London Assembly elections and as a councillor for the three- seat Norbiton Ward in 2018.
In 2022 she revealed she has multiple sclerosis, along with being a caregiver for her 16-year-old son, who has a neurological condition and needs round-the-clock care.
Speaking to The Guardian she said she was diagnosed 10 years ago and that her MS had worsened ‘since lockdown’.
‘It can be serious, but not in Emily’s case. She’s bloomin’ active, Ed said.
‘We’re very fortunate. Emily’s family and I, of course, have good salaries.
Speaking in 2017, Ed said: ‘Emily and I met through the party. I was chairing a Housing Policy Working Group and she was a member, as a social housing lawyer. What could possibly be romantic?’
The pair tied the knot in 2016 and have two children, John, 16, and Ellie, nine.
One of Sir Ed’s “big fears” was what would happen to his disabled son when he was gone, and he recently held back tears.
The former Cabinet minister spoke in an emotional TV interview about John, 16, who can’t walk and has only limited speech due to a neurological condition.
‘He’s going to need 24/7 care for the rest of his life, I worry about who is going to look after him,’ Sir Ed told.
He added that because of his own experiences, he felt a duty to advocate for carers during the general election campaign.
Sir Ed was only four when his father died and still a teenager when his mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Multiple sclerosis is his wife Emily Gasson.
Speaking about raising John together, Sir Ed told ITV Tonight’s The Leader Interviews: ‘My wife has MS so she can do quite a bit but she can’t do some things.’
‘My day tends to start with getting him out of bed, taking him to the toilet, taking his nappy off to give him a shower and cleaning his teeth.’
‘His limbs are supple, and we massage him daily to maintain that. He’ll wake up between 5.30 and 6 o’clock and shout for his daddy, so his daddy has to get up and start that routine.’
Being a father is “the most joyful and important thing I do,” according to Sir Ed, who took a weekend off from campaigning to care for John.
‘One of my biggest fears in life is what happens to him when I’m gone,’ he added.
‘I reflect on what my mother thought. I can recall that I took a picture of myself and this German girl after we had been on a school trip when she was ill; we had only spoken for about five minutes.’
‘I showed my trip photos to my mum, and she said to me,’ I wonder who you are going to end up with?’
As his voice cracked with emotion, Sir Ed added: ‘It’s slightly different with John- because he’s going to need 24/7 care for the rest of his life, I worry about who is going to look after him.’
‘No one is going to love him or hold him like I or my wife hold him, so we think about that.’
I’m sure all parents have some thought about it, but when you have a child who is so vulnerable and needs special attention, it’s especially pertinent.
‘I think caring and carers is something that I almost have a duty to stand up for and talk about.’
Laure Ferrari: Nigel Farage’s French partner who has been “whipping him into shape” but didn’t want to “overshadow him” on the campaign trail.
Laure Ferrari- a French Eurosceptic 15 years younger than Mr Farage- has been described as the Reform leader’s ‘secret weapon’.
But the Frenchwoman stayed away from his campaign trial, to not distract the leader.
According to a source with knowledge of their relationship, “Laure and Nigel are both rebels, but she wouldn’t want her presence to overshadow his best chance of getting to Westminster.” But the insider added: ‘If it would help him, and Reform, I’m sure she would happily be his secret weapon.’
Like the two ex-wives of the Reform leader, Laure has maintained a low profile, but there was shock when she made the decision to meet her partner, who is 15 years her senior, on live television after he placed third in December.
But in recent months Laure and Nigel posed on the red carpet as they attended the Inspiration Awards For Women 2024 in London and did the same at a polo event at the end of May.
Mr Farage and Ms Ferrari have been together since 2017- after they were spotted at his London home after he moved out of the family home in Kent and dancing together at a anniversary party.
Despite the growing age and role gap, Ms Ferrari claimed before her trip to the jungle last year that she was first drawn to Nigel’s values as a man. He has loyalty, empathy and never breaks his promises. That is very appealing to me.
She has also been credited with helping Nigel and get healthier- mainly through cutting down on pints and cigarettes- although not completely.
They first met in 2007, when Nigel was a MEP in Brussels.
After meeting them in a restaurant in Strasbourg, Laure began working for Mr. Farage and another MEP, Godfrey Bloom, to wait tables for her.
Describing what happened, she said previously: ‘I met these two MEPs and we started talking about politics.’
The two Brits don’t have any hierarchy, and neither has a political background.
In June 2013, Miss Ferrari posted on a link to a newspaper feature asking ‘Why do more women want to bed Nigel Farage over?’
But it was only four years later that their working relationship became romantic- and more political.
She ran for a small Right-wing party known as Debout la République ( Arise The Republic ) in 2014 and was then Mr. Bloom’s parliamentary assistant. She then served as Mr. Farage’s head of public relations.
The party, later renamed Debout la, was one of ten nationalist parties that make up the ADDE group, which was set up in 2014 by Ukip and funded by the European Parliament.
She was elected to the IDDE, the ADDE, as the ADDE’s think tank’s executive director in March 2015.
The two organisations shared an office in Brussels but Ms Ferrari moved to London, setting up a consultancy firm from an address in Clapham.
Ms Ferrari then spoke alongside Ukip politicians and other Brexit campaigners at public events in Dorset and Norfolk ahead of the in 2016.
She was spotted staying with Mr. Farage in 2017 and claimed to be friends with him.
The new Reform leader said he was giving Miss Ferrari ‘short- term help’ with her accommodation because she had nowhere else to go and needed money.
When questioned if he had ever had dinner with her or held her hand, he replied, “I’m not answering ludicrous questions.”
‘She is someone I have worked with and known well for a long time who wanted somewhere to stay for a week that wouldn’t cost her any money. It’s a working relationship. You can increase it however you please.’
But that working relationship turned to romance.
Miss Ferrari relocated 90 miles to study English at the University of Strasbourg before completing a master’s in communications there after being born in 1979 and raised in Epinal, North-East France.
After her studies, she took out a bank loan and opened a clothes shop in Strasbourg called Urban Flavor, as ‘I couldn’t see myself working for someone else’.
But the business did not flourish and financial difficulties led her to work as a waitress in the evenings- where she met her now partner.
Mr. Farage’s partners have largely kept a low-profile.
In a rare interview his German- born second wife Kirsten Farage spoke out to deny he is racist, insisting he does not have a’ bad bone in his body’ and the accusation ‘hurts him’.
“If he were a racist, I wouldn’t be with him.” I don’t think he has got a nasty bone in his body – he is not a bully, he likes things done properly,’ she said.
Mrs Farage added: ‘It hurts him being personally attacked but it doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable because I know he is not a racist.’
Mrs. Farage, who is notoriously shy around the camera, broke her silence in 2016 in which she portrays the father of four as a respectable family man who enjoys watching Dad’s Army despite the fact that she acknowledged that he was frequently so busy that viewers only saw him on television.
She told the Daily Telegraph her husband’s ‘hectic’ lifestyle – in which he drank and smoked too much, skipped meals and lived on adrenalin – made her fear for his health.
Kirsten, who was born in Hamburg, was rarely seen in public. At Ukip conferences, she sat anonymously in the audience.
She worked from home and rarely visited Ukip’s HQ in London’s Mayfair, which she described as a ‘freak show’.
Eight months after being seen with Laure at a property in London, his 18-year-old wife retreated to the family home in Kent.
Friends said it was a sign that he was ‘getting serious’ with Ms Ferrari.
Nigel Farage was run over by a car in Orpington, Kent, in his early 20s after a night out in a pub.
He sustained severe injuries and doctors feared he would lose a leg.
But it would also lead to marriage and two children.
Mr. Farage received care from a nurse named Grainne Hayes, who later became his first wife.
He had two sons with Ms Hayes, who are both now grown up.
He wed German-born bond trader Kirsten Mehr in 1999 after splitting with Ms. Hayes.
She and Mr Farage met in Frankfurt in 1996, while he was travelling on business- and still married to his first wife.
Of the moment he met Kirsten, he once said: ‘She was a stunning government bond broker whose brisk efficiency at first sight belied her ethereal appearance. No questions asked, she could have entered a pre-Raphaelite painting.’
Later, he explained in typically flamboyant style: ‘My marriage, which had been on ice and torpid with its claws bound for so long we had both forgotten it was alive at all, finally expired.’
Mr. Farage married Kirsten in 1999, and the couple divorced in 1997. They have two children.