Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Rosaleen Fenton

Rishi Sunak's gaffes - card fail, working class people snub and cash brag

From 'Dishy Rishi' to out-of-touch Tory 'Drippy Sunak', as our Whitehall correspondent Mikey Smith wrote earlier this year, the new PM has delivered some seriously out-of-touch statements since becoming an MP.

Rishi Sunak - who lost to Liz Truss in the Conservative party leader - is now our PM after Truss's disastrous 44-days in power.

But he's no longer the golden boy for the party - and faces a lot of scrutiny as the Autumn Statement is delivered today.

Now as Sunak's policies are under the spotlight, here are some of the most awkward and excruciating comments he's made over the years.

Rishi Sunak brags about diverting cash from deprived areas

Mr Sunak faces awkward questions over a leaked video (James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock)

A shocking leaked video captured Rishi Sunak bragging that he could funnel public cash from "deprived urban areas" and give it to more affluent towns.

A clip filmed in posh Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on July 29, captured Sunark telling an enrapt crowd of party supporters that Labour formulas targeting poorer parts of the country "needed to be undone"

He added that he had began to change these formulas, to ensure "areas like this are getting the funding they deserve", sparking anger.

Houses in the commuter town cost £504,273 on average, compared to £371,158 for the rest of England.

Defending his remarks, Mr Sunak said he was arguing that towns and rural areas needed help not just "big urban areas".

Labour said the leadership race was revealing the Tories' "true colours".

The party's shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy added: "It's scandalous that Rishi Sunak is openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayers' money to prosperous Tory shires."

No working class friends

A clip of a young Rishi Sunak admitting he had "no working class friends" went viral on social media after he a nnounced his candidacy in the leadership race.

The former Chancellor made the confession during the BBC series Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl, which was aired in 2001.

His parents and him were interviewed on the show about their decision to send their kids to the prestigious and expensive boarding school Winchester College.

In the clip, Mr Sunak admitted: "I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are working class... Well, not working class."

The Oxford University graduate claimed he was middle class while also bragging about how one of his best friends studied at Eton.

Mr Sunak attended the boarding school Winchester College before moving to Oxford University (BBC)

In the BBC clip, he says: "I mix and match and then I go to see kids from an inner city state school and tell them to apply for Oxford and talk to them about people like me.

"And then I shock them at the end of chatting to them for half an hour and tell them that I was at Winchester and one of my best friends is from Eton and whatever. And they are like 'oh, okay'."

Mr Sunak added: "I am very lucky to have been at these places, it does put me in an elite in society.

Rishi Sunak admitted he had no working class pals in the documentary (BBC)

"I always consider myself professional middle class, I don't think being Asian is a defining feature."

The clip left many social media users gobsmacked.

One wrote: "No understanding of reality. How is this man going to deal with the #torycostoflivingcrisis when he doesn’t have a clue!"

Rishi Sunak struggles to use a contactless card

"Since then someone's taught me how to use that contactless machine. And I tell you, it's an amazing modern marvel this technology these days!”. Pictured: The moment Rishi Sunak held his card to the plastic screen (SKY NEWS)

Multimillionaire Rishi Sunak left people stunned after he confessed that he had to be taught how to use a contactless bank card.

As Brits up and down the countey struggled to make ends meet, he was papped struggling to buy a can of Coke at a garage.

The viral clip showed the till worker raising a barcode scanner, and Sunak holding his card up to the plastic screen instead of the can of coke.

Speaking afterwards, the top Tory admitted it was "the most embarrassing thing” that’s happened during his time as Chancellor - and since then "someone's taught me how to use that contactless machine."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak no doubt thinks hard about his fuel costs (SIMON WALKER HM Treasury)

An ally of Mr Sunak later insisted it was a joke and Sunak later posted a picture of himself using a contactless machine in a McDonald's on his Instagram stories, adding the caption: “Nailed it.”

He later left people baffled after announcing that he enjoyed going for a McDonald's with daughters - but then named a meal that was withdrawn two-and-a-half years ago.

On social media, one person commented: "[The] chancellor of the exchequer doesn’t know how to use contactless, my head’s gone."

Claiming people aren't judged by their bank accounts

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy (@anmurty/Twitter)

Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are on the Sunday Times rich list - and are valued to be worth £730m.

It marks the first time that the occupants of No 10 Downing Street are richer than the monarch in Buckingham Palace - and comes as a time when millions of Brits are struggling to make ends meet.

Despire attending £46,000-a-year Winchester College, Mr Sunak previously commented at a leadership hustings: "I wasn’t born like this.

"My parents worked really hard to provide me with all these opportunities. I’m not going to apologise for what they did for me.

"And in fact that’s why I want to do this job, because I want to provide those opportunities for everyone else.”

He added: "I think in our country we judge people not by their bank account, we judge them by their character and their actions.”

"I'm a coke addict" and quick clarification

Rishi unveiling his "eat out to help out" scheme at Wagamamas (BBC)

Footage of Rishi Sunak accidentally admitting to being a "coke addict" went viral as the-then MP hastily explained he meant the drink.

The Chancellor, who doesn't drink, made the admission during a school visit years ago - but it went viral last year.

During the clip, Mr Sunak told a pair of teenage boys: "I'm a coke addict. A total coke addict"

He then quickly clarified: "Coca-Cola addict. For the record. Just to be totally clear. I am a Coca-Cola addict. I have seven fillings to show for it.

He then continued to explain, at some length, adding: "So now...so yeah, exactly, I could get in trouble. So I genuinely do have seven fillings because I got through a lot of the stuff when I was young, so people should not...don't, don't, don't do that."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.