Addressing the party faithful at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester today, Rishi Sunak went personal.
Giving his key note speech at the close of the four day gathering, the Prime Minister spent almost as much time focusing on his own personality and credentials as he did on policy announcements.
And in a bid to point out the differences between him and Sir Keir Starmer, Sunak went personal in his attacks on Labour too.
In somewhat of a step change to Sunak's premiership so far, the speech on the last day of the conference started with a surprise.
Rishi Sunak opens up on his racial heritage as the PM gets personalPAHis wife, Akshata Murthy, who rarely speaks in public introduced her husband to the stage.
Not used to big addresses, her delivery was rather stilted, but her appearance seemed to delight Conservative members in the hall regardless.
"Rishi and I are each other’s best friends," she said in a speech which gave insight into the Prime Minister's love for rom-coms and joked about his love of hoodies.
As he opened his own speech, Sunak echoed the conference slogan - long term decisions for a brighter future - and said his marriage was the best decision for “long-term future” he had ever made.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Rishi Sunak contrasted himself to Sir Keir Starmer
PA
Looking to cement "brand Rishi", the Prime Minister went to talk about himself as the son of a pharmacist, clearly laying out the parallels between him and Margaret Thatcher.
Just like she was Britain's first female Prime Minister, he also brought up his pride at being Britain's first Asian leader.
Declaring the UK is not a racist country, he said: "I am proud to be the first British Asian Prime Minister, but you know what, I’m even prouder that it’s just not a big deal.
The comments were met with raucous applause on the conference floor.
Contrasting himself with his opposite number in Labour, Sunak also chose to focus on Starmer personally.
While Labour is still far ahead in the polls, the party leader's own opinion ratings are low.
"Sir Keir Starmer might want us to forget about his repeated support for Jeremy Corbyn but we never will," he said.
He reminded the audience of Starmer's Remainer background saying: "We know where Keir Starmer’s heart lies on this issue—and we know he can’t be trusted on it either.
"First, he said he’d respect the referendum result. Then he wanted a second referendum. Then he wanted free movement. Then he didn’t.
"He said he wouldn’t try and renegotiate our deal. Then he said he would. And then just two weeks ago he was caught on camera telling a meeting of international politicians that he now just wants to follow EU rules."
The entire speech felt more like a US Presidential campaign address than what Britain has been used to.
After a number of policy announcements aimed at making clear the differences between Labour and the Tories, Sunak clearly sees the contrast between him and Starmer as another vital weapon he can deploy in the lead up to the next election.