Jeremy Hunt’s attempt to explain rising inflation with a stack of empty coffee cups has been mocked online, with viewers poking fun at the “cringe” video. A clip posted on Twitter showing the Chancellor ordering a flat white before explaining why costs are rising was criticised over its punctuation, maths and the failure to mention Brexit.
Viewers also pointed out Hunt failed to mention the huge amounts of money pumped into the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of Liz Truss’s economic policies. In the video, Hunt holds up a cup marked £2.56 and says a year ago a coffee cost “around £2.50”, before holding up another with £2.86 on it, which he described as “nearly £3 a cup”.
Factors contributing to inflation, which is “about 10 percent” – the latest figures for December put CPI inflation at 10.5 percent – included the supply chain squeeze after the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and persistently high energy prices. High inflation means “unemployment going up, businesses failing, the pound in your pocket is worth less than it used to be,” Hunt explains.
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The Government’s aim to halve the inflation rate by the end of the year was listed as one of the “peoples (sic) priorities”. The video’s comments section has been flooded with ridicule since it was posted on Wednesday morning, with viewers slamming it as “cringe” and “patronising.”
@Richiemuso said: “Perhaps try to quit filming the sickly sweet patronising infomercials and get on with the job in hand eh?”
Why is inflation high and how are we going to halve it?
Grab a coffee and let Chancellor @Jeremy_Hunt explain. pic.twitter.com/8mpf4xfxCO— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury)
@Mike_P_Williams asked: “Why’s he listing all this horrible stuff with a sociopathic grin on his face?”
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@rickburin said: “Could you make this a bit more patronising please?”
@PositivFuturist added: “Cringe meter off the scale.”
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney slammed the “Mr Bean-esque” video and accused Hunt of airbrushing “Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.” An SNP spokesman said Hunt “failed to address the massive elephant in the room which is the lasting damage Brexit has done to the UK economy.”
Politics professor Tim Bale, from Queen Mary University of London, called the video “a classic of the genre”. He added: “I especially loved last year’s cup of coffee, costing £2.56, being described ‘as around £2.50’ as opposed to this year’s, costing £2.86, being described as ‘nearly £3.00’. (PS while I’m on, ‘Peoples Priorities’ is missing an apostrophe).”
University of Nottingham politics emeritus professor Steven Fielding said: “I hope he recycled all those cups he wasted.”
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