Newly-appointed UK PM Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy have opted to live in the smaller flat above No 10 Downing Street, said his spokesperson. They had earlier lived in the flat along with their two daughters when Sunak was the Chancellor to former PM Boris Johnson.
This comes as a deviation from what many prime ministers of recent years chose – the flat above No 11 Downing Street, officially designated to the Chancellor but with a larger space.
When asked why Sunak and his family chose the smaller No 10 Downing Street flat instead, the spokesperson said that they were “very happy there”. The PM and his family might not even redecorate the flat. When asked if Sunak and family will redecorate the house, the PM’s press secretary said, “Not that I’m aware of”.
The No 10 Downing Street flat serves as the official residence of the prime minister, the PM’s office, and a space for the PM to entertain guests, world leaders and royalty.
Sunak was earlier asked during the summer leadership contest in August about his preference of residence. He had said then too that they would “probably just move back into the flat where we used to live, to be honest” if elected. “We have already decorated it and it’s lovely,” he said.
The No 11 flat is a bigger four-bedroom flat and is much larger than the No 10 flat, which is why it became the choice of many of Sunak’s predecessors. The first PM to choose the No 11 flat was Tony Blair and his wife Cherie who swapped the home with the then unmarried Gordon Brown.
The No 10 flat, though, is much larger than it appears from the front. The BBC reported that there is a “warren of rooms and staircases spreading from the hall with the chequered floor immediately behind the front door”.
Sunak had vacated the flat after he resigned as Chancellor in April, and moved to their West London house.
Rishi Sunak is the youngest, and the first Hindu prime minister of the UK.
(With PTI inputs)
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