Sajid Javid hinted today that he believes he may have missed the chance to become prime minister.
But the Chancellor expects Britain’s first black or ethnic minority prime minister to be elected in his lifetime.
He sought to become Tory leader earlier this year but failed to make it through to the final-two showdown.
Asked if he thinks he will live to see a black or ethnic minority prime minister, he told ES Magazine: “Yes I do. I really do and it could come from any party.”
Pressed on whether he believed his opportunity to become prime minister had passed, he replied: “Probably. I gave it a good shot.”
Interviewer Sarfraz Manzoor was not entirely convinced, writing: “Sitting opposite Javid, I don’t believe for a second that he truly thinks he’s missed his chance.”
Mr Javid, whose father arrived in Britain in 1961 with just a £1 note in his pocket, became the first politician from an ethnic minority background to reach the office of Home Secretary and then Chancellor, and told how he still often feels like an “outsider”.
Full interview in ES Magazine, free every Thursday and Friday.
