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.

That can’t be true. Seriously? I need proof. If that is true I feel very very angry. Lease tell me you don’t have proof. I really need to wind down ready for bed.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ps3m-lottery-cash-for-eton-sports-centre-1595502.html

Theres a bit about the controversy on Wikipedia as well

Look it up and while you're at it you can look up how much the lottery paid Winston Churchill's grandson for grandads 'papers'. Nicholas Soames. A similar sum.

I was wrong. 3 million, not 1 million.

Fucking hell. Talk about pouring privilege onto privileged. I’m gobsmacked.

Speechless

Corruption at its finest. Wow!

Although, I think your other example is even worse:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12109509.churchill-archives-debt-to-lottery/

Apparently, it wasn't 'an establishment' stitch up. So says, National Heritage Secretary Stephen Dorrell. Oh no, not at all! I wonder who he counts amongst his friends. And Lord Rothschild says that the Churchill family behaved 'very generously' and agreed 'a favourable rate'. I expect these sort of people are just so far removed from reality that they actually believe their delusional ramblings. Their level of arrogance and entitlement is really something to behold.

Back to the OP's OP, it was suggested on "The News Quiz" today that Rishi Sunak not having Sky TV as a child was referring to the company itself, not renting the service.

Not RTFT so apologies if this joke has already been made, but it made me laugh.

This was from 1995 - the lottery had only been going 6 months. Imagine how much that would be 29 years on.
And it was good old Jeremy Corbyn speaking out !
Although they could have kept the papers and it could have cost the tax payer more to legally obtain them.

In the late 70's/early 80's I was friends with a family where the father had his own pharmacy (was my Saturday job as well, was friends before & after that). The mother didn't work. Both girls (no boys) went to private school, they had a horse at livery, 2 posh cars, lived in a lovely big house in a very good area in Kent near Bromley with a mahoosive garden. Dined out regularly, always in designer clothing.

And all that was just on the one pharmacist income. Add in a GP salary from the days when they earned "proper" money as well...

As others have said, it isn't envy from the have nots. We can I think all agree that as well as the advantages of his upbringing Rishi Sunak worked hard for his qualifications etc. It's the total lack of awareness of how some people live through no fault of their own that really pisses me off.

Even worse in my mind is the lack of even trying to understand the lives of others. I was brought up middle class; went to private Junior school then when both me & my sister got into grammar school we got a horse as my parents no longer had to pay for private schooling. We lived in a lovely house in a posh area, though that was bought from inheritance and some of the costs were paid from income from the same inheritance. Mother didn't work. But I still had a good awareness of how less privileged people lived, my parents encouraged trying to learn & understand things outside our own experiences especially for subjects such as economics and politics, I knew that we were very lucky compared to many. I had as many "poor" friends as well off ones, and could understand when they couldn't afford things that we could and often paid for them especially when I was earning well.

Incidentally - albeit a tad late - is no one else amused at the notion (from the photos) that Rish! lived "above the shop" ?

I read he grew up in a six bedroom house in a nice cul de sac. No idea if it is true, I'm always a bit sceptical about what I read in newspapers.

Quite.

Exactly. As a child I grew up oblivious to how most people live. I lived in a huge house and had riding lessons and music lessons and ski holidays and a private education (parents were a GP and a sahm)

But as an adult I have volunteered with people with difficult lives and I have worked to try and improve their lives. I would never pretend to have lived their lives but Iike to think I do care about their lives and have tried to learn about them and understand the challenges better

We don't need our prime minister to have suffered and struggled. We just need them to care about those who do

Sunak promises to stay on for the full term of the next Parliament if the Tories lose. He must therefore be hoping and praying that he will lose his seat and can legitimately clear off to California.

Surprised no one has mentioned the rowing lake. Worth a Google search. Good news is the community can access those facilities. I wonder how often they are open?

I did wonder a bit whether the D Day fiasco was some sort of ploy to make sure Sunak loses in Richmond so he can fuck off to California. I can't imagine that it's the sort of behaviour that would ever go down well in Yorkshire

@Iwasafool Rishi initially lived in Portswood which is a mixed area with a lot of student housing.

They then moved to a 6 bedroom house in Bassett which is one of the nicer areas of Southampton.

To be fair the prep school he and his brother went to wasn't that posh although Winchester boys definitely is.

Still can't get over the sister going to a state school. If they lived in Bassett that's a huge difference in education

Sunak has promised a lot of things.

His promise is worthless.

He can afford to stay in UK and tour the world doing talks. And maintain a home in California. Doesn't mean his family won't move there tho

Frankly it annoys me way more that last year he made close to a million and, through creative accountancy and similar, he paid 20 per cent tax on it.

Which is equivalent to the minimum rate for normal low earners.

But then they say they will fix the economy by reducing fiscal evasion

less focus on how out of touch he is and more focus on a detailed list of public services and healthcare that has been sold or contracted to private companies would help people to see the truth... a focus on the state public services are truthfully in would be good. because life ticks on seemingly the same apart from the obvious NHS waiting lists and ambulances gridlocked outside A&E because they cant hand over.... look deeper.... the focus has been on the cost of living crisis recently, but not on what caused it. if you believe covid or the war in ukraine is the sole reason for the state the country is in then that is naieve at best and delusional in truth

I'm a lot more left wing than Starmers Labour party, the LibDems have a much more ambitious manifesto but in my area, the LDs have no chance of unseat the incumbet Tory.

So, back to your point....... i don't know whether Labour will succeed in growth, its hard to achieve without some major reform, which does tend to cost but its their ambition!

However the Tories plan is to have no growth, there is nothing at all that they have suggested that will lead to substantial growth, as their entire 14 years in power has proved.

TBF to Sunak, he didn't need creative accounting, he just paid the tax owed on unearned income, which is 20%, capital gains tax.

Which of course as Chancellor and then PM, he made sure, despite the nations dire financial situation, didn't get increased...

He also earned a lot more than 1m, it was almost £2m.

Agree with all of this. I'm also much further to the left than the current Labour Party. Luckily in our town it will be the Lib Dems who unseat the Tory MP. There are so many yellow signs in gardens and posters on windows, I've never seen anything like it!