While volunteering at a soup kitchen, Rishi Sunak asked a homeless man if 'he would like to get into the finance industry '

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From the guardian:Rishi Sunak has been criticised over an awkward exchange with a homeless person while volunteering at a soup kitchen in front of television cameras.

The prime minister visited a shelter on Friday, where after a brief exchange he asked the man whether he worked in business. The man replied that he was homeless. Sunak then discussed his background in the finance industry and asked if it would be something the man would “like to get in to”.

The man replied: “I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t know, I’d like to get through Christmas first.”

...I have no words.

Absolutely. People who have businesses can become homeless. Anyone can become homeless.

It's ok to admit Sunak fucked up.

A man is hungry and homeless. And if the guy said, yes, I have a business but under this Tory Government, it's possible to have a business and be homeless and go to a soup kitchen and starve, then what would Sunak have said?

It's all about the optics

Watch the video.

I've seen the video

How did he expect the conversation to go?

Yes, I'm homeless, I had a business but the Tories have fucked up the economy, housing is expensive, the bank reposessed my house and now I am on the streets.

Then what would Sunak have said?

What part of that is untrue?

Rishi Rich as Croesus is the Prime Minister. He was the chancellor. Why isn't he Prime Ministering, I.e sorting out the shit show mess that this country is, instead of pretending to help at a shelter/pretending to fill up someone's car/pretending to serve at Eat out to Help out?
Second thoughts, it's probably best he's faffing about in front of cameras instead of messing this country up any more than he and his pals have already.

Also any logical person would know that for a homeless person to truly rebuild his life, he would have to do things in steps. Step one would be getting a safe place to live. Before you achieve that, there is no way you can get an office job as most office jobs require video interviews which you probably wouldn't be able to if homeless. Never mind CRB and fraud checks etc.. even if he had the intention of encouraging this guy to pursue his dreams, he should not talk about something that the guy is so far from achieving now (not that he can't, just not today).

Rishi asked the man whether he worked in business. The man replied that he was homeless. Sunak then discussed his background in the finance industry and asked if it would be something the man would “like to get in to”.
The man replied: “I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t know, I’d like to get through Christmas first.”

Fucking tone deaf.

He then asked if he had any plans for the weekend.

The guy himself understands that. He said he wanted to get into temporary accommodation - he is on the streets. That is the first step.

Rishi - 'Well I did lots of different things but yeah you're right. But the good thing now is if you look at all the jobs in finance, the majority of them are outside London now. Is that something you would like to get into?'

Can you imagine the possible answers to that when the PM asks someone who has turned up at a homeless soup kitchen a few days before Christmas?

I think Sunak got off lightly

I fucking hate the Tories and what they've done to this country but I hate the media more. It's manipulative and corrupt. So I'm slightly suspicious about this story. I'm pretty sure that when the PM goes on visits like that he is briefed first. So someone will say "first you can meet Tony, he used to have a job in a bank/had a failed start-up/ lost his job and his family and house after he became a gambler/alcoholic". Then he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wouldn't want to bring up anything negative (if that IS the case), but we have no context to this. We don't know Tony's story. He could have been in prison for all we know, for robbing old ladies.

Having said that, what does it take to say to start off the conversation "So what's your story, Tony? How long have you been homeless?"

It's his over-enthusiastic labrador, vacant smile that finishes me.

@CurlyhairedAssassin Reda the transcript!

Sunak asked the man whether he worked in business. The man replied that he was homeless. Sunak then discussed his background in the finance industry and asked if it would be something the man would “like to get in to”.
The man replied: “I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t know, I’d like to get through Christmas first.”

With finance you generally need 10 years referencing and credit checks.

A lot of the work is not high pay, it's not like you just waltz into an investment bank and command megabucks.

So yes. Rishi is a bit out of touch.

Nobody actually sleeping on the streets "works in business".

Give it time. The Tories have only been in power for 12 years...give them a few more and I'm sure even more working people can be screwed over to such an extent they are sleeping on the streets.

A poster's sister was actually there and it says on this thread how the conversation went.

He then asked if he had any plans for the weekend

He said 'What's your plan?' Perfectly sensible question;

...I'd like to get through Christmas first,' the homeless man said
Sunak continued: 'What's your plan, what are you doing this weekend?'
Dean replied that he was hoping the homeless charity St Mungo's could help him get into temporary accommodation 'so I'm not on the street'.

Unbelievable that their account of what happened doesn't correspond even slightly to what was filmed, isn't it?

Whilst I am pleased to have Britain's first Asian and Hindu PM, I wish he wasn't a tory. Pretending he owned a Kia was bad enough, not having a clue about cost of baked beans worse, but this? This is so fucking embarrassing. He has no bloody clue and the guy's measured responses are amazing in the circumstances. I wish someone had given it to Rishi with both barrels.

Think I read a similar account on Twitter, so it sounds plausible.

He's totally out of touch with normal people

Lol that's compelling fact-checking.

If you bother to listen to the homeless man, it was he who started talking about having worked in finance. Sunak politely responded on the topic the guy introduced.

How patronising of MN poster to assume homeless people have no skills, never had a career, a profession, a home and high income, can't hold their own in conversation .

If you bother to listen to the homeless man, it was he who started talking about having worked in finance

Please can somebody post me the clip of him saying this? Because it genuinely isn't in any version I've watched.

I have watched it, it’s not true