Rishi Sunak is under fire yet again, following reports about his own personal wealth – just days after his
controversial Spring statement was criticised for not helping alleviate the
cost of living crisis. The chancellor is believed to be the richest minister, but has presented himself as a relatable figure.
On Monday, he claimed that his family drives a Volkswagen Golf.
However, the
Mirror has since reported that this is just the cheapest of the four cars the millionaire owns – allegedly, he also has a £94,000 “high-specification Range Rover” along with a “top of the range Lexus” and BMW.
These three other cars are kept at his other properties in Yorkshire and Santa Monica.
The Mirror’s
exclusive came less than a week after the chancellor announced he was introducing a temporary 5p fuel duty cut in his Spring statement to alleviate cost of living concerns – a mini-budget heavily criticised for not providing struggling households with enough support.
So, as you can imagine, Sunak’s bid to downplay his personal wealth did not land well on Twitter.
Rishi Sunak currently choosing which one of his four cars he should drive to media appearances to tell everyone he can’t raise benefits for people who can’t afford heating in line with inflation
— James Felton (@JimMFelton)
March 29, 2022
What sort pf person pretends to be poor when they are actually worth £ 200 million & married to a billionaire ? ? The sort of person who creates a budget that will push 1.3 million people into poverty including 500000 children
#RishiSunak#SpringStatementhttps://t.co/2hMQaNDhtg — Tanita Tikaram? (@tanita_tikaram)
March 28, 2022
Not only did the media invest Sunak with qualities he does not possess, but it also let him underplay the wealth he does possess. He and his friends in the media went to great lengths to make him look like a man of the people. But he's nothing of the kind
https://t.co/Qkwo02y0YS — George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot)
March 29, 2022
Superficial Sunak “forgot” his Range Rover, BMW and Lexus when telling MPs he drives a Golf.
The wealthy Chancellor is privileged, been lucky and earned(paid) a fortune so is stupid to play down his riches.
https://t.co/1gTzpe08Bt — Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire)
March 28, 2022
When you try to cultivate a certain image of yourself with [taxpayer funded?] glossy PR images, don’t expect the press to sit back and applaud you. The dangers of spin…
“Millionaire Rishi Sunak actually owns four cars after claiming family drive Golf”
https://t.co/zrrcWCA9uq — Sophia Sleigh (@SophiaSleigh)
March 29, 2022
This is not the first time Sunak has been called out for presenting himself as a relatable figure, despite his background.
When promoting his Spring statement last week, he used £30.01 of his own money to fill up a petrol tank at Sainsbury’s before later admitting the car pictured did not actually belong to him but a supermarket employee.
Confirmed by Treasury sources that this Kia is not Rishi Sunak’s car but is actually owned by a Sainsbury’s employee. The Chancellor apparently paid for the petrol.
pic.twitter.com/xCXPucEvX3 — Ben Kentish (@BenKentish)
March 24, 2022
Sunak has also faced backlash when his expensive personal possessions have been caught in PR shots, such as his £180 supermug or his £95 sliders.
He has become a popular target for online memes too, with plenty of people happy to
edit him into TV gameshows after he revealed his statement last week in a particularly bizarre PR photo.
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