‘You’re out of touch, Rishi’: UK PM gets slammed for his speech at Harvard Business School
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is once again at the receiving end for his speech, this time at Harvard Business School, and his subsequent post on LinkedIn. Sunak on Monday shared a video of his visit to Harvard where he said brilliant businesses cannot be built without brilliant people. “It is about making sure that we attract the best and the brightest to this country. And that’s why I am here,” he said.
“A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet students from all over the world studying at Harvard Business School. You can’t build brilliant businesses without brilliant people, and I want the UK to be the best place to start and scale a high-growth company,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Sunak, who assumed the premiership in October last year, also said that the UK has more venture capital here than France and Germany combined – “so we are in a great place to attract the best and brightest to this country”.
The UK PM’s speech riled up a section of people in his country who took offense at the suggestion that brilliant people can be found only at the US-based Harvard Business School.
Scott Kirby, the founder of The We Are Group, said to be brilliant one doesn’t need to have studied at Harvard, as so many successful people come from normal backgrounds.
“Just shows how out of touch you are,” he wrote.
Kirby further asked: “Where’s the photo opportunity with those that didn’t go to university and have had no help building businesses from scratch, rather than relying on the funding made available from these institutions that celebrate elitism?”
Kabir Singh, director at Kovotek, said Sunak was far out of touch and what about the local talent graduating in the UK. “You’re too far out of touch Rishi – what about the top local talent here in the UK graduating?”
Singh further said the UK has the best educational institutions in the World. “Why don’t you give better incentives to build businesses in the UK that employ local resources instead of reigning in people from abroad to have these opportunities?” he asked.
This is the second time within a month Sunak has faced public backlash. In December, he was ridiculed by people for asking a homeless man whether he was in business.
Sunak was serving breakfast at a shelter in London when a man asked him if he was “sorting the economy out”. He responded by saying that it was exactly what he was trying to do. Then Sunak asked the person: “Do you work in a business?” “No, I’m homeless, I’m actually a homeless person,” the person said.
