Sunak and Sky Tv

[OperationSquid]

In an interview , Sunak was pressed on how he stays in touch with the struggles of ordinary people despite his considerable wealth. When asked if he ever had to go without something as a child, he responded that his parents made numerous sacrifices, with Sky TV being the notable example.

While I understand the criticisms that he may be out of touch, it’s important to recognize that he worked hard and studied diligently to achieve his current position, regardless of his family's sacrifices. Emphasizing his hard work rather than his privileged background could encourage others, showing that success is possible through dedication and effort, not just through private education.

It's not fair to imply that his achievements are solely due to his background. When we look at successful individuals like Alan Sugar and Richard Branson, who are celebrated for their self-made success,

why is it a race to the bottom when discussing Sunak?

His story should be seen as one of hard work and achievement, culminating in his role as Prime Minister. ?

Or is this a case of the public just wanting something else ?

🤣🤣🤣 Hi Akshata 👋

It’s just another example of him having no political instincts though isn’t it?

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of what he said, or the merits of his achievements, it should be blindingly obvious that what he said, in the way he said it, would go down like a lead brick.

He should have responded by saying that he was was lucky enough to come from a financially comfortable background, that they did make some sacrifices but it was stuff like Sky TV, which in no way compares to the sacrifices some parents have to make for their children, which he completely understands and is committed to eradicating.

fair points, it just seems like these days that the standard must be a start from the bottom etc rather than more celebrating what they achieved

you got me, quick get Mi5 on the line

There's a video of him as a teen talking about how middle class and privileged he is. It was a bbc thing

Ok I'd respond properly to your last point - but I don't know what he has achieved.

He went to a fee paying school that had guaranteed entry to Oxford, made a more than a few bob due to being a hedge fund manager during the banking crash in 2008, married a billionaire, got parachuted into a safe seat to become an MP, became an unelected second choice PM- he wasn't even chosen by his party and, has given lots of government contracts to his friends and family inc his wife that have created more wealth for them.

The issue here is that the two main narratives everyone spins are not really true or relevant.

It's not about his hard work paying off because that doesn't resonate with people when you went to a private school. Similarly, it's not about his family making tough financial sacrifices and therefore understanding what 'working people' go through because his family income was well above the average.

He should just say the truth - he comes from a high middle class family and benefitted from that and wants to the same for families across the country. To be frank, I'm bored of all this nonsense about a PM needing to know or appear to know what 'working class people' are going through because it's simply not true. It doesn't matter that he is insanely rich - it doesn't stop him being able to make decisions to try and help the poorest in the country. When have we ever had a proper working class PM in this country?

at the same time he still had to achieve some of that , its not like the magic just happened with a magic wand

thats what puzzles me , this whole walking in the poor persons shoes, in order to understand it better etc, you can not have a driving license but still know that speeding is dangerous etc

Yes and the other issue is that party leaders are tied to the ideology of the party they represent so their own background is far less relevant than people try to make out.

Tony Blair went to boarding school but represented Labour and no one takes offense to this because he was representing a party which supposedly represents the 'working classes'. Similarly if a working class kid became Leader of the Conservatives, do people honestly thing the Tories are going to start taxing the rich and increasing the welfare budget? I think not.

very true points

At least Keir Starmer has an idea of being poor, he talks about his parents having to choose which bill they didn't pay & having the phone cut off. Rishi has never had to struggle for money, he went to a very good private school where Keir went to a grammar school which only turned private while he was there & I would imagine was able to stay on with a bursary, he went to Leeds University before doing a Post Graduate degree. I would think studying law & working his way up was much harder & more competitive than working for Goldman Sachs as a hedge fund manager.

My argument would be, how relevant is all that really?

In the same way that I don't believe being wealthy or 'polished' from a private school in and of itself makes you a great leader, I don't see how going through 'struggle' does. Is Keir Starmer better placed to bring inflation down and cut NHS waiting lists because he saw this parents go through this 'struggle'? I'm not sure really.

I think all people really want to say when they expect a leader to have gone through what 'honest, working class people' go through is, 'what will you do for the average joe' and they assume they will do more for them if they have come from that background.

"they assume they will do more for them if they have come from that background."

that's what puzzles me as its never a certainty, that that would be the case. surely its should be are they qualified for the role

Yes I mean Liz Truss is as close to a working class PM as we've had for ages and she's done more harm to working class people than any prime minister in the last 30 years.

I think you've definitely hit the mark spot on there, OperationSquid.

I couldn't have put it better myself!

This is about class or background. It’s about Rishi being politically incompetent.

He could have easily turned the tables and pointed out that he is privileged but he cares more about performance than labels. He could have called out that these gotcha questions do absolutely nothing to add to the scrutiny that the press should be applying to politicians. He could have made the mediocre interviewer look stupid, instead he walked right into it.

Anytime Mr prime Minister, especially after watching house of cards, nothing is as it seems, just wish the public would understand politics is not always clear , especially if they have watched eg shows like house of cards, or west wing etc

Thanks, I've not seen House of Cards myself, I'm guessing it's along the lines of Noel Gordon's 'Deal or No Deal' which, I have to say, is almost a mirror of politics, except we use WhatsApp rather than telephones.

i guess thats one way to put it, with democracy part of the process is that there are many groups and as such certainly slows down the political processes, due to the various debates, focus groups etc before changes can be adjusted.

Yes, but let's not forget the alternatives...

It's a non-issue though..... hardly anyone had sky in the 1990's so it's not like saying you grew up without Sky today. We didn't even have 5 channels until 1997 (when Rishi was 17) so it's not like he was going without.

Yes, I was thinking that! When was Sky even available for the majority of households?!

I agree. I don't care about how working class or not they were growing up (and I'm especially fed up with the competitive "I was sooo working class/struggled as a kid" thing that seems to be the in-thing with potential PMs). What's important to voters is, or should be, their policies.

When have we ever had a proper working class PM in this country?

I guess John Major? Grew up in a council home and left school at 16, although lots of wealthy people also left school at that age and didn't go to university in the past.

(The closest we've come since John Major is, with the Tories, David Davis. Stood against David Cameron to be Tory leader, and with Labour, Alan Johnnson. Who was considering standing to replace Gordon Brown but decided against it in the end).