Akshata Murty makes surprise address at Conservative Party conference

The Prime Minister’s wife told the conference they were each other’s best friends, and added she ‘could not imagine being anywhere else’.

Akshata Murty, the wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaks on stage during the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Akshata Murty, the Prime Minister’s wife, made a surprise address at Conservative Party Conference ahead of Rishi Sunak’s speech.

Ms Murty told the conference she and her husband were each other’s best friends, and added she “could not imagine being anywhere else” ahead of his address to close the Conservative Party conference.

As she arrived unexpectedly on the stage at the close of the Manchester gathering, Ms Murty said: “Yes, you are absolutely right, I am not on the agenda for today.

“A bit of a surprise addition, shall we say, and a surprise for my husband too, who has no idea what I am going to say.”

After telling the audience that her speech was also a surprise to their daughters Anoushka and Krishna, she added: “The reason why I am here is really quite simple, and it is because Rishi and I are each other’s best friends.

“We are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else but here today with all of you to show my support to him and to the party.”

Ms Murty’s address echoes a similar introduction by Sarah Brown, the wife of ex-prime minister Gordon Brown, at the Labour Party Conference in 2009.

In that speech, Mrs Brown praised the former premier’s personal character, describing him as her “hero”.

At the time, the address was seen by some as an effort to shore up Mr Brown’s waning political appeal ahead of a general election.

With the Tories poised for a nationwide poll to take place next year, Ms Murty closed her speech by telling the conference audience she often reminds her husband of the importance of fighting for his values and Conservative values “when the going gets tough”.

The businesswoman, who regularly appears on the Sunday Times Rich List, concluded: “Rishi, you know this, you know that doing the right thing for the long term, even when it is hard, is the right thing to do.”

As he opened his speech, Mr Sunak echoed the conference slogan as he responded to his wife, describing Ms Murty as the best “long-term decision for a brighter future” he had ever made.

I know they are an extremely strong partnership and I’m sure people want to know who their leader is and the values that drive them, and the people around them that influence and sustain them

Prime Minister’s press secretary

The Prime Minister’s press secretary described it as “a very personal speech” that Ms Murty wrote herself and indicated the public will see more of her in the run-up to the general election.

“I know they are an extremely strong partnership and I’m sure people want to know who their leader is and the values that drive them, and the people around them that influence and sustain them,” she added.