How ‘The Independent’ killed off Nadhim Zahawi’s political ambitions

The ‘boy from Baghdad’ believed he could be prime minister, says Sean O’Grady – but his announcement that he is to step down at the general election puts an end to that dream. His departure from Westminster life, thanks in part to our investigation of his tax affairs, will remain an instructive political fable

Nadhim Zahawi has revealed he will not stand at the next election (PA)

For a fairly brief time in 2022, Nadhim Zahawi – who has announced he will stand down from parliament at the next election – thought he might one day be prime minister.

After all, he enjoyed an excellent “back story”, as a Kurdish-born child refugee from Iraq; he had become wealthy through business; he had proved a successful minister, and had overseen the highly successful rollout of the world-beating Covid vaccine; and, in the chaos of Boris Johnson’s final days in office, he was appointed chancellor of the Exchequer in succession to Rishi Sunak, who had quit in protest at Johnson’s misdemeanours and careless style of government.

After that, he served in Liz Truss’s government before becoming party chair under Sunak.