Wednesday 26 October 2022 05:52 PM Rishi Sunak, wife Akshata Murty and children move into No 10 Downing Street flat trends now
Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to move back into No10 just six months after moving out of Downing Street to his £6.6million Kensington townhouse.
As Chancellor, the former Goldman Sachs banker lived in the No10 flat rather than the one above No11 normally used by the senior Treasury minister.
In April Mr Sunak, his wife Akshata Murty, their daughters Krishna and Anoushka and family labrador Nova moved out to be closer to the children's £22,000-a-year private school. The then-chancellor split his time between the properties while his family remained in west London.
Though speculation had been rife that Britain's new Prime Minister may now choose to revive this living arrangement, rather than live in Downing Street full-time, it is understood that Mr Sunak will move back into the No10 flat, where he and his wife were said to be 'very happy'.
It means that Mr Sunak will not live in the flat above No11, which is considered more spacious and has been the custom for prime ministers since 1997, when Sir Tony Blair swept to power.
The flat was renovated by Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie for an estimated £200,000 in the so-called 'wallpapergate' scandal – which notoriously involved gold wallpaper that cost thousands of pounds.
However, Mr Sunak is still keeping the London townhouse, and if he wants to get away from Downing Street, he will be able to spend weekends at the Prime Minister's official country estate, Chequers, with his family, as well as spending time at their London properties and their constituency home in North Yorkshire.
Mr Sunak, whose family has an estimated wealth of £730million, will also have to decide whether to draw his full prime ministerial salary of £164,080 or to take a voluntary pay cut as a symbolic gesture in the current cost of living crisis.
Downing Street has been home to the leader of the UK Government since 1735 and has been the headquarters from which the nation's leaders have navigated world wars, financial crises and pandemics.
Then-chancellor Rishi Sunak holding the budget box inside his official residence at 11 Downing Street in March last year
Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, whose estimated wealth is £730million
Rishi Sunak making a speech outside 10 Downing Street as Britain's new Prime Minister yesterday
Floor plans for Number 10 and 11 Downing Street show the second floor of the complex has a large number of bedrooms
The downstairs area of Number 11 Downing Street is pictured in 2005. The four-bedroom residence is located upstairs
Number 11 Downing Street is pictured in 2005, eight years after Sir Tony Blair became PM and opted for the four-bedroom flat
Number 11 Downing Street, pictured in 2005, remained a product of the 1960s until Tony and Cherie Blair arrived in 1997
Krishna and Anoushka (pictured as infants) have attended school in South Kensington and their parents are keen to minimise disruption for them
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata (pictured at a campaigning event in Grantham in July) have two children, Krishna,
