Rishi Sunak went without Sky TV so his parents could send him to private school

[number10bus]

Honestly this has really annoyed me, apart from the fact it's such crap - he came from a family where his parents were a GP and a pharmacist, it's like he's literally thought of the most working class stereotype and applied that. He's so out of touch and I don't know why this one has annoyed me so much but it really has.

I'm not much older than our prime minister and we didn't have one either, or holidays and not much in the way of any luxury items and guess what my parents couldn't afford to send me to private school despite them working very hard too.

We never had Sky. Was envious of the girl whose family did. Later turned out they were committing various frauds and they all went to jail. Ho hum.

He’s really very out of touch.

Wow.

The only people who I knew with Sky in the 80s were my aunt and uncle.

They were a childless middle aged couple, who worked as a glazier and a clerical assistant in the Education Department in the local council.

They also lived in a three storey Victorian townhouse that they bought for about a tenner in 1976.

They did have to fully renovate it over about a decade but I don’t think they ripped up the floorboards and burned them.

He doesn't know what he doesn't know.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/the-wireless/373065/the-pencilsword-on-a-plate

I still find it hard to believe that a gp and a pharmacist could have sent 3 kids to Winchester or Winchester equivalent even in the mid 1990s.

It's more than him offering no Sky up as an example of the sacrifices his family made (ha!).

It's the WAY he said it: "There'll be all sorts of things that I would've wanted as a kid that I couldn't have."

Well yeah. That's childhood for you. It's not a sign of sacrifice to just not get everything you want as a child. Unless, of course, your whole life you have just been able to have anything you like - then it probably FEELS like a sacrifice.

But not getting everything you want as a child is normal for everyone else.

Perhaps that's why he thinks it's absolutely fine to cut down on benefits. It'll just mean those benefits scroungers having to do without Sky, that'll teach them what real privation is, the bastards.

Sunak is a couple of years older than me so he'd have gone to senior school in the early 90s I presume, Sky TV was barely a thing at that point ! I remember in the mid to late 90s one or two friends having Sky or cable and us all piling to their houses to watch MTV and stuff like that. It's like my 1920s born grandmother saying they didn't have a car when she was child, very few people did !! It's such a stupid example.

I have no fundamental issue with private schools, I also think most people who send their children to private schools will have to make some kind of prioritisation decisions on their spending but suggesting a bit of economising on an average salary can fund a top public school is ridiculous. It's the same as those who suggest people in their 20s could save up a house deposit if they stopped buying avo toast or cancelled Netflix.

Finally, there is an unremarkable private school very near my house. It is nowhere near the level of Winchester College + the main thing it seems to have going for it over the local state options is smaller class sizes. The annual cost of my sky subscription wouldn't cover a term's fees, I've just looked it up !

His grandfather had got an MBE for his work as a tax collector?

"Upon moving to Britain, Rishi’s grandfather Raghubir worked as a tax collector for the Department of Inland Revenue. His work was recognized with an MBE in 1988 (making him a Member of the Order of the British Empire)."

A story of migration and cultural exchange: Rishi Sunak's family tree | Blog | Findmypast.co.uk

"He had been a member of the Lawn Tennis Club as soon as he arrived in Leicestershire, and chaired the travelling and inter-club visits committee at the Leicester Charnwood Lions Club. His name is also written on a trophy somewhere - the Gimson Trophy, for the County Bridge Championship in 1979."

Rishi Sunak's grandfather lived in Oadby and once nearly missed dinner with the Queen - Leicestershire Live (leicestermercury.co.uk)

It doesn't look as if Rishi's parents were born into poverty. I would bet that Rishi Rich's parents didn't get Sky because they didn't want it to interfere with their children's education. Many parents did try to limit screen time even back then.

Not a Rishi fan but that is quite a reach. How do you know he keeps his money to himself? Have you researched any philanthropy he did /does? Is it only celebrated if it is pasted all over the papers for your applause?
What a random comment

Yup

His maternal grandfather worked as a tax collector for the Department of Inland Revenue. His work was recognized with an MBE in 1988. Any humble beginnings must be further back than that, I think.

Might depend on the age gap between siblings.

think it was 2. the sister had to slum it. But fees were 12k apparently so 24k if the boys crossed over. Doable then with 2 x professional salaries coming in

He sounds like all the posters on here who make “sacrifices” to pay for private school.

Well there's one thing for sure Rishi, a GP and a pharmacist can't afford to send their 3DC to Winchester now can they?

The man is either stupid or is actively choosing that it's time to leave office.

Sunak's meme of how he only had a public school education because his parents prioritised education is seriously irritating. Every time he mentions it, it carries the clear implication that the rest of us are inadequate parents if we don't send our children to public schools because we're clearly not prioritising education, in fact we're probably prioritising our Sky subscriptions. Can't one spin doctor point out to him that it makes a hell of a lot of voters just want to kick him in the teeth?

Not unless they have family wealth

Indeed. He has no idea about real life.

he and/or his wife might but my feeling is the Tory party would have used his philanthropy in his biography somewhere. The non-dom/green card/california residence hasnt helped him in his man-of -the -people image.

Most would say healthcare workers and tax collectors are relatively humble beginnings compared to being richer than the King. I don't think he has said he grew up poor. Even in these dire days, NHS consultants make 6 figures at the very least. So not poor. But not super rich/super elite or insulated from day to day life as you probably are when you are effectively a billionaire - which was the question.

He grew up in the sort of home most professionals can aspire to create and that Sunak clearly sees as common ground with the populace. Most cannot aspire to be richer than the King (and probably wouldn't want to be!)

Nevertheless, his point didn't land!

Does anyone seriously believe that, if he was indulging in philanthropy, it wouldn't be publicised far and wide? It would be absolute gold dust to counter the near-universal picture of him as an out of touch rich boy. We also know he minimises his personal contribution to the country's tax take.

Pedallleur
But fees were 12k apparently so 24k if the boys crossed over

Boarding fees were £12k per annum in 1995 - the Sunak boys were day boys.

I'm about five years younger than him. We didn't have it. I also wasn't sent to an exclusive private school. The man is so out of touch it's ridiculous.

Aren't we all just pandering to a populist narrative by our faux outrage at Rishi's privilege? I don't want our politicians to be just like me - I want them to be way better than me, and able to sort a lot of stuff that is currently broken. I will reserve my outrage for the lies, the corruption, the lack of intellectual rigour, and blatant self--interest rather than foolish attempts at empathy. .

I fear the media, (faced with a foregone conclusion election but more 'tough decisions' given the state of services/finances) will inevitably turn the next few weeks into blooper soundbite clickbait, and personalities over policies. Even with Rishi's spectacular own goals, Keir et al will have to tread extremely carefully.

The Sky News and D-Day misjudgements just make me wonder why the Prime Minister's advisors are selling him down the river and why Rishi isn't smart enough to realise.

There was no Sky TV until the very last year of the 80s - February 1989 is when it started broadcasting.