Comedian and political commentator Nish Kumar has weighed in on the role model status of Conservative Party politicians Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman and Priti Patel to the British-Asian community.
Kumar also addressed racism and routes into comedy in his Letter To My Younger Self, exclusive to this week’s Big Issue. The reader favourite column has previously featured the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton and Noel Gallagher, and this week’s magazine – out now – sees Kumar pick up the pen.
As a big Goodness Gracious Me fan growing up, Kumar explains the impact its stars had on him and his future career. “Seeing them live brought about a seismic shift in my understanding of who was able to do comedy. But I still had no sense of what a career in comedy would have looked like and how I would have achieved that.
“As a British-Indian person, I am thrilled that the people that I idolised were Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nina Wadia and Kulvinder Ghir.
“I would much rather have them be my role models than Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, the most prominent British-Asians in the country right now.”
Speaking about his route to comedy versus the chances of young hopefuls today, Kumar speaks of “seismic factors at work” that mean careers in the arts are restricted to those from wealth and privilege.